Rosario Vampire : The Great Escape
by Khronology
Summary: The most painful thing that anyone can experience is watching the one you love, cherish, adore in another man's hands. I watched her as she embraced another man. I was slowly dying inside, but this was for the best. I turned and walked away.
1. Walking Down Memory Lane

**[A/N] ** Hey guys! This is my first time writing a story so please be gentle with the reviews! Criticism is welcomed, but no insults please. If the feedbacks are good, I'll continue updating. _Rated M for a reason. _

**Summary : The most painful thing that anyone can experience is watching the one you love, cherish, adore in another man's hands. I watched her as she embraced another man. I was slowly dying inside, but this was for the best. I turned and walked away, leaving her to find her happiness, hoping that she'd forgive me for the pain I caused her. She's not supposed to know that I was here. I, Aono Tsukune, was supposed to be dead. And I intend to stay that way.**

I opened my eyes and instantly regret it. The sunlight was blaring in my face. I groaned. Its my fault that I left the blinds open last night and not close it back. I slid out of bed and looked out of the window. Same view same weather. Always bright. But its normal for this place. How long have I been here? How many years of my life have I lost? I lost count. I heard knocking on the door.

"Its open", I said loudly.

A doctor came in. Her name is Chuugo Hatsumi. She's one of the doctors that live here. For some weird reason, she checks up on me every day since I was shipped to this unknown place.

"Morning Tsukune. Already in a bad mood?" she teased. I rolled my eyes. I'm not in the mood for this.

"What do you want, doctor ?" I asked in a annoyed tone. She shakes her head. I know she hates it when I called her that, and I didn't care. I don't want to be familiar with anyone here.

"I just came to inform you that we'll be running a few….experiments. They expect you to be in the lab within 15 minutes" she said. I gave out a quiet sigh.

"I'll be there. Anything else? " I asked when I noticed she made no move to leave.

"Oh nothing. Sorry." She said. I noticed her blushing. She quickly closed the door, leaving me to attend my morning business. I looked out of the window again…remembering what happened and how I ended up here…

**-FLASHBACK-**

"_Good morning Tsukune!" was the first thing I heard. I looked up to see a pink hair beauty waiting for me. I smiled._

"_Morning, Moka-san" I greeted her. She flashed her most brilliant smile, which took my breath away. If I were to die, I'd die a happy man. I noticed her looking at me shyly. I lifted my eyebrow in question. _

"_Tsukune, I forgot having breakfast this morning, and I'm reallyyy hungry right now…so can I have a bit of your blood pleaseeeee?" She said, giving me her best puppy – eyed look, which I had to admit, I couldn't resist._

"_Sure Moka-san. But I'd appreciate it if you don't forget your breakfast __**every**__ morning" I said rolling my eyes as she unbuttoned my first button and pushed my collar aside, to reveal my neck._

"_Well, I can't help it since your blood is so addicting" she said with a cute pout. I laughed and winced in pain when she bit her fangs into her fangs. I was starting to get dizzy by the time she was done._

"_Thanks for the breakfast Tsukune!" she said smiling bright._

"_No problem" I muttered fixing my collar and my button. I hoped she didn't get any blood on my collar. We continued walking until we reached the entrance gate of our school. And sure enough, Kurumu came pounding into me, hugging my head into her overly sized breast, and suffocating me at the same time._

"_C-can't breath!" I yelled while trying to get her off of me. Geez, it's a wonder that I can survive this almost every morning. And sure enough, Mizore showed up from no where and threw and ice dart which hit Kurumu's head. Right on the mark. _

"_Let go Kurumu. I won't let you get close with my Tsukune" she said, stepping out from the bushes. "Oh and good morning, Moka, Tsukune" she greeted quietly_

"_Good morning Mizore" both me and Moka replied at the same time. _

"_Mizore…how __**DARE **__you hinder both me and Tsukune" she said, growing her claws out. Oh boy, this is going to get ugly._

"_I'll show you, boob women, and everyone else, the bond that me and Tsukune have for each other" Mizore said, while growing some ice claws._

"_Tsukune-san, its amazing how you can survive this every morning" Yukari said, as she approached me from behind. I noticed Ruby was with her._

"_Good morning, Yukari, Ruby" I greeted. They greeted in response._

_The four of us decided to leave the succubus and the yuki onna to their duel. Yukari is right, it is __**amazing **__that I can survive this every morning. We talked for a bit before Ruby excused herself, saying that she has some work to do for the chairman, leaving me, Moka and Yukari to walk to our classes._

"_So Tsukune-san, now that the Fairy Tail business is done, what are you and Moka-san planning?" Yukari asked as we entered our class and took our seats._

"_I'm not sure Yukari. Since its our final year in high school, I really want to cherish the remaining time that we have. And definitely avoid any sort of battle during that time too" I said. Which is true. I'm really getting sick and tired of fighting. I don't get why everyone can't get along. But then again, this is Youkai Academy we're talking about, and I don't think such thing will happen for a long time….._

"_I agree with Tsukune. Hey, since we have the holidays coming up, why don't we go for a trip? It's been awhile since the whole Fairy Tail incident…" Moka said trailing off. Hmmm, a trip. Why not?_

"_That'll be a great idea desu!" Yukari squeaked happily. Just then, Kurumu and Mizore entered the class at the same time._

"_What's this? I heard something about a holiday! Are you going to leave me here Tsukune?" Kurumu said as she clinged on to me._

"_Of course not Kurumu-san. We were about to tell you" I chuckled. Although, I would definitely appreciate the time alone with Moka…_

"_I'll be keeping an eye on you boob women, and I'll make sure you don't get close to my Tsukune" Mizore said. I rolled my eyes. They started arguing again. I'm gonna miss this once I graduate…._

_It was all going normally when I suddenly felt a strong demonic aura, with an intense killing intent. That youki was all to familiar. I tried placing my finger on who might it be when a name flashed in my head. Suddenly, the wall of my classroom exploded, and a monster walked in. It couldn't be. He's supposed to be dead. He's not supposed to be here._

_Kaneshiro Hakuto._

_That bastard. How could he even be alive? I immediately allowed the vampire blood in me to take over, transforming me. The rest of the girls immediately stood by my side. I felt a hand on my shoulder and I saw Moka looking at me. I understood immediately. I took off her rosary and she transformed into a silver haired beauty._

"_Hakuto" she growled menacingly._

"_Moka, Tsukune" he said with a smirk._

"_How can you be alive? We saw you die" Kurumu asked. I knew that she was as shocked as I was. Hakuto smirked._

"_Well, it seems that you've underestimated me" he said._

_I refused to listen to him talk and immediately lunged at him. Hopefully the training I had with Moka will help. _

_I punched him in the face, putting all my strength into that punch, and to my delight, he flew like a rocket, and crashing into the trees in the forest. Behind me, I can hear screams of panic. I didn't care. Usually, I don't resort to violence. But in Hakuto's case, its different. He tried to abduct Moka and at the same time tried to kill my friends. He is probably the only person that I would really like to kill. I jumped out at the window and landed on the ground and I heard landing sounds behind. I knew it was the girls. I saw Gin rushing to my side._

"_What happened?" he asked worriedly as he took in the scene._

"_Its Hakuto. That bastard still lives" I growled._

"_What?" He asked shocked. But he quickly recomposed himself and transform into his wolf form. _

_I saw Hakuto regain his composure and smirked at me. That bastard. It seems that punch didn't have an effect at all. I growled more louder now. All at once, Gin, me and the girls lunged at him, punching, kicking and pounding him with full force. He flew again when Moka managed to land a blow, but he quickly sunk his claws to the ground, and flew forward. I saw that his right arm transformed into a blade and I immediately knew what he was going to do. He was going to kill Moka._

_I pushed her out of the way. Instead of stabbing her, he stabbed me. I looked down and saw the blade stuck into me. He pulled it out and pushed me away. I heard the Moka screamed my name._

"_Still the honorable one I see. Taking a blow like that for your girlfriend. I can't believe you're still as dumb as ever" he said laughing._

"_Rot in hell you bastard" I managed to say. I fell backwards and my vision was starting to get cloudy._

"_I'll see you, when my time come Tsukune. Until then, why don't you rot first" I managed to hear him say. And he left._

_I could hear Moka and the girls crying. No, I don't want them to cry. Especially Moka. It pains me to hear her cry._

"_TSUKUNE! YOU IDIOT! WHY DID YOU DO THAT!" She screamed as she held me. I was blacking out. My body was getting way to heavy for some reason. I couldn't move my body. Let alone feel. It was numb. So numb._

"_Moka…" I managed to spurt out. I struggled to keep my eyes open. I saw her crying. The proud silver haired vampire crying. This is new. _

"_Tsukune, look at me. Hold on Tsukune. Please, don't leave us" I heard Yukari crying._

"_Tsukune! Get a hold of yourself!" Kurumu wailed. I heard Gin rushing at my side, tearing off my shirt and inspected the injury._

"_Well?" Moka growled. I could hear worry, sadness, impatience in her voice. Gin cleared his throat before he answered._

"_I'm sorry. But there's nothing that we can do. He's taken quite a hit. Even his vampire powers can't heal him" Gin said with sorrow. So this is it? This is my end?_

"_What if I inject him with my blood? I did that before and it worked didn't it?" Moka asked. I could hear a small amount of hope in her voice._

"_I'm sorry Moka. But that will quicken his….death" Gin said in a strained voice. I could tell he was trying very hard not to cry. I heard Moka took a deep breath, like she was trying to calm down. I could hear the other girls crying harder now._

"_Moka…." I said again. Struggling to stay awake. I groaned in pain as I tried to reach her._

"_I'm here Tsukune. I'm here" she said. I could feel her stroking my face, like she was trying to memorize it. With every ounce of courage I could muster, I said it._

"_I love you"_

_I made sure that my voice was loud enough for her to hear. She cried harder now._

"_I love you too, Tsukune. Always have" she said between sobs._

"_Too bad I didn't said it earlier huh?" I said, trying to joke. But it wasn't working. I could feel my self slipping away slowly…_

"_You idiot. You're such an idiot" she said, before she kissed me. I kissed her back, with all the strength I could gather. At least now, I could die a happy man._

"_Thank you Moka….I can go knowing that you loved me" I said. She cried, stroking my hair. I reached out for my chain, one that my parents gave to me. It was a dragon emblem. They gave it to me, before they died. And now I want her to have it._

"_Here Moka, have this. Remember that I will always be watching over you. Don't think I'll be lost forever, okay?" I said handing her my chain. I felt her nod and she kissed my forehead._

"_I love you Moka….I really do" I said, before I released my breath. And everything went black…._

_**-**_**Flashback Over-**

I blinked, and shook my head. I really thought that I died then. But when I woke up, I found my self here. I don't exactly know where is 'here' but according to what they say, I'm here because people that I know died, and in order for me not to make their life difficult, they brought me here. After that , they ran tests and experiments on me, injecting me with weird chemicals and testing my abilities. Because of that, my senses are greatly heightened, and I could lift a tank without breaking a sweat. My reflexes got faster and they trained me in combat. And they managed to get rid the ghoul side of me, and at the same time, get rid of all the vampire weakness that I have. I'm basically fine now, and I don't need a holy lock to keep me sane.

I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror. I noticed how much I've changed since then. I have a tattoo on the right side of my face, a mark left by the ghoul side of me. Even though its gone now, the tattoo remains there. And my eyes. Its no more brown. I don't know if it's the chemicals or what but it made my eye color turn from brown to silver. And it glows. When I asked why they say that it glows because I can see in the dark. I shrugged it off.

When I was done, I put on a black shirt, black combat pants and black combat boots. Don't bother asking me why everything is black. I walked out of the room and head towards the lab. I saw there along with some scientists readying some weird apparatus so that they can conduct some weird experiment again. I just sat in a corner watching them. You may be wondering why I didn't try escaping. Well I did. But their security here is so tight, not even a cockroach can come in without being noticed. Of course I didn't give up just then. But I realized that if I keep acting irrationally, I'm never gonna escape this hell hole.

noticed me and smiled at me. I heard that she has feelings for me but frankly speaking, I don't care. Like I said, I don't wanna get close to anyone here. She maybe be beautiful, smart and all, but there was only one queen that sits in my heart.

Akashiya Moka.

How I long to touch her again. To kiss her again. To have her lips against mine. I shivered slightly at that pleasant thought. For years, the only way I could get through the days is by thinking about her. Soon, very soon, I'll be in my way to see her. I got another escape plan ready. I just need to wait for the right moment…..

"You look like you're in a good mood" said a deep voice. I frowned. I knew that voice.

"How nice for you to disturb my thoughts, Eisuke" I said in an annoyed tone. He laughed and I just rolled my eyes. Gengo Eisuke was my only friend here. Though he can be a prick at times, he's my best friend. We were like brothers, as much as I hate to admit it. Unlike me, Eisuke was injected with a monster blood, forcing him to be one. Then, they experimented on him, like me. The pain that we both went through was horrible.

"Thinking about her again?" Eisuke asked. I just nodded. He knew how much I missed Moka. He smiled.

"I think about my Yuko all the time. We used to sit under the cherry tree in front of my house and just talk for hours….Until one day these bastards came and took me away" he said in a low angry tone. We hardly talk about our loved ones, but I know how much he cherished this girl Yuko.

"Ah, the both of you are here. If you gentlemen would wait for a bit, the apparatus is being set up" said as she approached us. I didn't say anything. I didn't even bother looking at her. I just closed my eyes.

"Can we have breakfast while waiting then?" Eisuke asked

"No, I'm sorry but you can't. We don't want anything to go wrong during the experiment" she said. I could feel her looking at me but I don't really care. I don't give a damn about what this women feel about me or how she treats me. She's equally bad as them. I opened my eyes when she walked away.

"You know, she was eyeing you the whole time. You sure got a reputation here mate" Eisuke chuckled.

"I don't care. And what do you mean by _reputation_?" I asked.

"As usual, you're oblivious. You're the most popular male among the females here. And not just among the colony, but among the doctors and scientists as well" Eisuke said.

"Eisuke, I seriously hate repeating myself, but I _don't _care" I said, followed by sigh.

"Gentlemen, if you would please follow me" said a voice. I looked up and saw a scientist motioning us to follow him.

"Asshole" I heard Eisuke muttered low enough so that only I could hear. I shook my head, though it was the truth. We both stood up and followed him.


	2. A Painful Dream

**[A/N] **Second chapter! Thank you **tripod762 **for correcting my errors. Really appreciate it. Well of course if you'd like to know why the rage against Hokuto, read to find out! And as always, review! As I said, if the feedbacks are good enough, I'll continue the update. If you don't like it, don't read it. Some people can be so idiotic at times.

Our mouth hung wide open as we took in what was in front of us. Two giant tanks that was filled up with blue colored water. I had no idea what the hell is that water for. And I don't understand _why _do they need the tank.

"What's up with the tank?" Eisuke asked, not taking his eyes off the tank the whole time.

"Gentlemen, for the next few days, this is where you're gonna be sleeping. You both are the first two test subject to go through this. If you make it through, it will be considered one of our greatest achievement yet" the scientist said.

What? We'll sleeping _inside_ a tank? No way.

"So why the tanks?" Eisuke repeated, clearly annoyed that his question hasn't been answered completely.

"A few days ago, our patrol team found a wounded dragon, by the canyons. It was severely injured and couldn't defend itself when we captured it" he said happily. He licked his lips and continued.

"After bringing it here, we nursed it, but we made sure that it won't regain its strength completely. We ran a few tests on it, and we found that the blood of the dragon is somewhat….useful" he said. He smiled.

"Useful as in?" I asked. I was getting curious. And I'm getting a _really _bad feeling about this.

"Well we found that if we were to inject its blood into a another creature, the creature will gain new abilities, at the same time enhancing its current abilities" he said proudly. I didn't bother to hide my look of disgust.

"What creature, did you experimented on?" I asked. I felt disgusted.

"Goblins. But unfortunately, they didn't survive that long. For some reason, their lifespan shortened. The longest one to survive lasted about a week. After that it died. We believe its because a goblin's body and system can't handle the pressure as the dragon's blood transforms it and at the same time, enhancing it. But, so far, you both are probably the only two subjects that survived every experiments and tests that we conducted. That's why, we're very sure that you would both would be fine at the end of this, and be stronger" he said happily.

"That's comforting to know. How long does this experiment last?" Eisuke asked.

"Well that depends on how long it takes for your body and your system to be transformed and enhanced. It could take, most probably about 5 days?" he said estimating.

5 days? I frowned. We were planning to leave within this week. And we have to make sure that our plan go smoothly.

"So how's the tube gonna benefit us?" I asked.

"You'll be placed in these tubes while your transformation takes place. This way, it will be easier for us to monitor you and ensure that nothing happens to you" he replied.

He _better_. Both Eisuke and I need to survive no matter what. And we'll do it even if we have to blow this place up.

"So when are we gonna start?" Eisuke asked. I could tell that even he is getting impatient.

"We're starting now. Now that we've explained everything, I would require you two to take off your boots, socks and shirt" he said. I raised my eyebrow.

"Scared to get a little wet, Tsuki?" Eisuke taunted. I glared at him. We both took off our boots and socks first. When we took our shirts off, we heard gasps and giggles from behind. I turned to look and saw that the female colony, doctors and nurses were watching us. I frowned. I didn't know they were here.

"Whoa, you sure have some fan club Tsuki" Eisuke said laughing. I scowled at him.

We both climbed the ladder that was located beside the tank. We stood at the edge and took a deep breath before climbing into our respective tanks. Once we were in, the tank sealed shut and I could feel something poking me from behind. In mere seconds, I felt the worst pain ever. I started screaming in the water, knocking on the glass, begging them to take me out. But they didn't make any move. I was about to smash the glass open when I suddenly felt very tired. I couldn't resist the temptation to close my eyes. I stopped struggling and soon, I drifted into sleep…

I was dreaming that I was in Youkai Academy again. I dreamt that I was having a normal day with the girls. Everything was fine, until the sky became dark. I turned and saw Hokuto there.

"Hokuto-san…?" Moka said in surprise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked. Maybe he came to pay me a visit?

"Me? Oh nothing much….I'm just here to take something" he said. The way he said it made feel very uncomfortable.

"Something like what?" Kurumu asked. I could see her curious expression on her face. Hokuto just smiled and transformed his right arm into a blade. Before any of us could register what happened, he dashed forward and grabbed Moka and stabbed her. Her blood spurted in all directions, covering me in it as well. I watched in horror, as her lifeless body dropped in front of me.

"I came here, to take her life" he said with an evil grin.

"MOKA!" I screamed. I rushed to her side and held her. I checked her pulse. She was gone.

"HOKUTO YOU BASTARD!" I screamed.

"You think the show's over? Look to your left Tsuki" he said. I looked and I saw my parents and Kyouko.

"Mom? Dad? Kyou-chan? What are you guys doing here? This place is dangerous! Run!" I yelled desperately. It was all too late. Hokuto dashed at their direction and slaughtered them all.

"Remember this Aono, _you_ are the reason why they died. You're so weak. And you'll stay that way" he said chuckling. And he vanished.

"COME BACK HERE YOU COWARD!" I screamed, looking around. Then everything around me vanished. Only his words echoed in my ears.

_You're the reason why they died. You're so weak…And you'll stay that way._

I fell on my knees and started crying…


	3. Discovery

**[A/N] **Third chapter! It's a bit of a long chapter. This chapter is written from a third person view. It basically explains Tsukune's rage against Hakuto. Enjoy. As always, review and correct my mistakes!

Chuugo Hatsumi was getting worried. It's the third day and Aono Tsukune hasn't been showing much progress. Gengo Eisuke on the other hand was almost done. Just a bit more and he'll be awake.

"Status report on Aono Tsukune" she asked one of the scientist.

"Not much, " he replied worriedly. He started typing on the computer to check on his status.

"What seems to be the problem? Eisuke is doing fine….but Tsukune, he's getting me worried here" she said, biting her lower lip.

"His brain activities are really unstable. I think he's having a nightmare. Perhaps that's the reason why his transformation is slow" he said.

"Could you try tapping into his mind? And see what he's dreaming off?" she said.

"Sure. But its going to take awhile. Why don't you take a break until then doctor? We'll call you when we have it" the scientist said.

"Yes. Thank you" she replied and walked out. She headed out to the cafeteria and bought some bread and a cup of coffee. She hasn't been having any decent sleep for the past three days. Aono Tsukune's progress has been worrying her. At this rate, he could die. She sat on a bench and took a sip off coffee.

For some reason, ever since he arrived here, she can't seem to stay away from him. There's something about him that pulls people close, whether he likes it or not. Unlike Eisuke, he's quiet and quite closed off. He doesn't show any interest to mix around the people here, not that she could blame him, but people just seem to gravitate around him. Although he doesn't show it, he's kind and values the life of a living being, even though it's a insignificant creature. She remembered the time when he saw one of the scientist torturing a goblin. He turned his head away in disgust. His bangs hid his eye but she could've sworn that she saw tears forming. That was when she was attracted to him. Many subjects that they brought in, they don't care about anything. It's like they lost they're will to survive. And at times they could be perverted. She frowned, remembering the time when an orc squeezed her butt. She punched him in the face.

Some of the monsters here can be very rude. But Aono Tsukune was very different. He and Eisuke were the only ones who attempted to escape, _three_ times. Though he failed, she was sure that he would try again. It was just a matter of time. And she knew he didn't really like her, but he still respected her. She remembered when there was a time, a hybrid attacked her, wanting to rape her. Tsukune helped her and kicked the hybrid's butt. She smiled at that memory. He was, aside from Gengo Eisuke, probably the most attractive, yet thoughtful and kind subject here.

She finished eating her food and drank up the remaining of her coffee. She made her way back to the lab and saw Eisuke standing there with a towel wrapped around him.

"How do you feel?" she asked as she approached him.

"Weird. And stronger. And I feel like I'm more sensitive…it's kinda hard to explain" he said. Hatsumi just nod her head.

"Why don't you rest up. I'll tell the guys to bring some food. I'm sure this is abit overwhelming for you" she said, motioning to one of the guys to get some food.

"Thanks. How's Tsuki doing?" he asked, staring at Tsukune's tank.

"Not so good I'm afraid. It seems that he's having some bad dreams. It could be the influencing factor on why his progress is slow" she said worriedly. She walked over to the scientist.

"So, did you get recording of his dream?" she asked. The scientist looked at her worriedly.

"Yes….but I'm not sure you want to watch it. Especially when you just ate" he said hesitantly. Hatsumi just rolled her eyes.

"Just put it on. Don't be such a wuss" Eisuke muttered. The scientist glared at him.

"Fine. But don't tell me I didn't warn you" he grumbled, typing out a command on the computer.

The video played and Hatsumi and Eisuke watched with horror, the violence, the pain that Tsukune was going through in that dream. They watched, as a good looking man stabbed a girl. The girl was beautiful, with pink hair and green eyes. And they watched as he slaughtered three people, which they assumed was Tsukune's family. At the end of it, Hatsumi felt like she was going to vomit, and Eisuke looked really pale.

"I told you so" the scientist said. Even though this was his second time watching the video, he still felt like vomiting.

Eisuke looked at Hatsumi and saw that she was a little green.

"You okay doc? You look like you need some air" he asked.

"I'll be fine" she said, desperately trying to push out what she just saw.

"If you say so" he replied, shrugging. He looked at Tsukune's tank with sadness and sympathy. If he said he understood what Tsukune was going through, it will be a lie. He didn't know how a person can go through so much pain and still be _him._

"I'm guessing that the guy who was on a killing spree is Hokuto" he said out loud. This seem to have gained Hatsumi's attention.

"Really? What's with him? And did that girl really died?" Hatsumi asked before she could stop herself. She was just too curious for her own good.

Eisuke noticed and he gave a small smile. Among all the doctors and scientist the live here, she's probably the most nicest and most compassionate doctor he's ever met. He knew that she was attracted to Tsukune. And she helped him and Tsukune many times when they got into trouble.

"No. She didn't, fortunately" he said as he walked to a corner of the lab and sat on the floor. He grabbed some food which the guy brought from the table started munching on it. Hatsumi sat beside him and looked at him. She was giving him the I-wanna-know-everything look. He just rolled his eyes and swallowed his food.

"I'll tell you, but you better not mention one word of it to him. Or its off with my head" he muttered taking another bite.

"I promise" she said eagerly. She waited patiently until Eisuke was done with is food and drank some water.

"Aono Tsukune was an average human boy. With some twisted luck, he ended up at this school called Youkai Academy. This school was specifically built for monsters, teaching them how to co-exist with humans. I'm sure you've heard about this school right?" he asked.

"Yeah. Some of our test subjects are from that school" she said. He didn't bother to wipe of the look of disgust from his face.

"Right, anyway. When he entered that school, he thought that it was a normal school. It was the first day of school and he was walking to the school from his dorm when he got hit by this beautiful girl. Her name was Akashiya Moka. He took an instant liking to her and they quickly became friends. I remembered that he told me she sucked his blood during his first meeting and he was shocked and didn't know what the hell he got himself into" Eisuke said, chuckling at that.

"Of course, when he found out, he wanted to leave. But Akashiya Moka stopped him. After that he made friends with a two witches called Yukari and Ruby, a yuki onna , Mizore and a succubus called Kurumu. Oh if I remember correctly, I think he mentioned of a werewolf named Ginei. He said that he was a pervert or something. Well anyway, because he's the only human in that school, his friends made sure that he wasn't discovered. But unfortunately ,the student council found out. It was during the battle with the leader, was when he became a vampire"

"How?" Hatsumi asked, getting more interested.

"Well, after the leader, Kuyou was it, almost burnt him to death, Moka decided to inject him with her blood. As a result, he turns into a vampire temporarily. After the ruckus with the student council was dealt, trouble came finding them again and again. During this time, Akashiya Moka injected her blood into him many times. As a result, he turned into a ghoul. But with the help of his headmaster, he managed to keep that side of him dormant. You remembered the ruckus he caused when your people took of his holy lock?" Eisuke asked. Hatsumi shuddered at that memory.

"Yeah. He was violent. I think she must've injected her blood into him a tad bit too much. When we tried to get rid of the ghoul side of him, we discovered that the blood complicated his systems. It took a lot of our efforts to restrain him and at the same time, to cure him" she said. Eisuke nodded. He remembered watching that scene.

"After the dust started to settle down, there was this group called Anti – Thesis that came around. They were a group that mainly consist of hybrid monsters. They hated the school system, and they hated the purebreds. Their leader was Kaneshiro Hakuto and Yoshii Kyria. Both of them led this group in order to destroy the school. When Tsukune met him, he thought that Hakuto was a good guy. But, it turns out he was bad. When he tried to destroy the school's barrier, Tsukune fought him and managed to bring him down. But at that time, Hakuto really did some damage to school barrier. Even with Moka's demonic energy, the barrier couldn't be fixed. In the end, Tsukune almost gave his life into fixing his barrier. It was then Hakuto realized his mistake and gave his demonic energy to fix the barrier. I remembered Tsukune telling me Hakuto's last words before he left, "It should be interesting if we were able to meet in another way"…." Eisuke trailed off. Remembering Tsukune's expression of hate, betrayed, sadness played all at once on his face.

"What happened after that?" Hatsumi asked, eager to know about Tsukune's past.

"After the whole Anti – Thesis thing was over, school festival started for them. And sure enough, there was trouble. He didn't say much about what happened but he did say that because of the fight, the whole school got burned down" Eisuke said. He couldn't help but to feel proud of him.

"The _whole _school got _burned?_" Hatsumi asked, shocked. She didn't know Tsukune had a wild side of him.

"Yeah. They couldn't go back to school for a couple of months because of that. When they went back, they did get into trouble here and there but other than that, everything was normal. Until his yuki onna friend, Mizore, had to go back to her home. It was her coming of age ceremony, since she turned seventeen. They went there and pretty much everything was fine….Until they met one of the members from Fairy Tail."

"Fairy Tail…I did hear some of the staff talking about them. Something about an organization for monsters right?" Hatsumi asked. Eisuke nodded.

"The member was quite hostile and of course, know Tsukune, he puts his friends first before him. But the shocking part is that, Moka's older sister was also with Fairy Tail. She was working with them as an assassin. They fought the Fairy Tail people off. But that wasn't the only time they ran into Fairy Tail. For their summer camp, they visited and ex-senior from Youkai Academy. They stayed there and they had trouble with Fairy Tail again. At that time, they discovered their senior was a siren. And so was their enemy. It was a battle against the sirens. But sure enough, they managed to beat the pulp out of that siren dude" Eisuke told, getting excited about this part.

"After that, they went back to school. During this time, a boy from Hong Kong came to that academy in search of Tsukune. I remembered Tsukune saying his name was Wong Fong Fong or something. He kept pestering Tsukune to join his mafia family. And as usual, Tsukune said no. Things were going alright for them until one day, Moka's seal had a problem. She could not revert back to her sealed self. In order to fix this, they had to go meet the Second Dark Lord. His name was Touhou Fuhai, and he happened to be the founder of Fong Fong's family. Tsukune described him as a short perverted old man, but his powers are something not to be trifled with. When checking on her seal, they were sucked into her seal and they witnessed her memories. Tsukune didn't want to talk about this part. I'm not sure why, but I decided not ask" Eisuke said, hoping Hatsumi would understand. He knew she was really eager to know.

"I understand" she said, a bit disappointed.

"Anyway, during that time, Fairy Tail managed to infiltrate Fong Fong's home and kidnapped Moka. Tsukune and the rest were unconscious. When they woke up, Fong Fong told Tsukune what happened. Tsukune, of course, being the person he is, went out on a desperate attempt to find her. He managed to locate Fairy Tail's headquarters. But when he arrived, he didn't just see Moka there. He saw his parents and his cousin there. And he was shocked to see that Hokuto and Kyria was holding them hostage. Tsukune felt betrayed and angry that Hokuto would do this" Eisuke said sadly. He took a deep breath before continuing.

"His friends managed to take down Hokuto, leaving Tsukune to deal with Kyria, while they save his family and Moka. But unfortunately, Hokuto got up, and managed to knock out all the girls. Tsukune saw what happened and left his battle with Kyria to stop Hokuto. But it was too late. Kyria managed to hold him back as Tsukune watched in horror, Hokuto butcher his parents and cousin without any mercy. He was about to kill Moka, but Tsukune managed to break free and dash towards Hokuto, and killed him. He killed Kyria as well in his rage. His cousin died instantly but his parents were barely hanging on. Before they died, they gave him a dragon emblem. After that, the Youkai Academy headmaster came. Seeing what happened, they brought the group back to the academy. Tsukune suffered depression from what happened. After his family's funeral, he went into complete withdrawal. During that time, Moka helped him out, making sure he eats and sleeps and not do something stupid" Eisuke said. He took a deep breath again.

"Tsukune started to get better and began talking to people again. He got back to his newspaper club and things went about smoothly….Until Hokuto showed up again" Eisuke continued. He hated this part.

"I thought you said he died?" Hatsumi asked, frowning.

"That's what I thought too. But it turns out, he managed to survive. He came back to kill Moka, since that was the orders that was given to him. He was about to stab her, but Tsukune took the hit instead. He said that at that time, he really thought he was going to die. He mustered up all his courage and told Moka the he loved her. And she kissed him and said that she loved him too. Before he passed out, he gave her his dragon emblem. But when he woke up, he found himself here" Eisuke finished, glad that he finally was able to tell the whole thing.

Hatsumi decided not to say anything. She looked at Tsukune sleeping in his tank, wondering what is he dreaming about now. She didn't know that he had to go through so much pain. She let her eyes wander on his bare torso, which over the years has been well built with the training and all, and settled on the 'X' shaped scar on his chest.

"Where did he get that scar from? The 'X' shaped" she said, motioning her chin towards Tsukune's tank.

"Um, if I remember correctly, he mentioned that he got it while trying to save Moka from a bunch of guys trying to rape her. That scar is precious to him. It reminds him of her. He wouldn't let anyone touch it" Eisuke said wrinkling his nose.

"How do you know that?" she asked frowning.

"There was this once, a nurse was checking up on him after a test. He was lying down with his eyes closed. I think she couldn't help herself as she touched the scar. He opened his eyes and growled menacing at her, warning her not to touch him again" he said chuckling.

Hatsumi was amused. They both turn their attention to the tank, waiting for Tsukune to awaken…


	4. Everything

**[A/N]** Fourth chapter! This chapter is dedicated to Moka and Tsukune. This is written while the song **Everything** by **Lifehouse** was playing. Enjoy! All credits go to **Lifehouse **on this one :D

_**P.S **_In this part, Moka's voice will be in _italic _whereas the song lyrics will be in _**bold italics. **_ENJOY.

I don't know how long has passed. Everything was pitch black. I was on my knees crying. Hokuto was right. I was the reason why my family died. I couldn't even protect them. I was weak. And Moka. I cried harder now. How could I let the person I love so much just die in front of me? I don't have the will to stand anymore. I don't have the will to live anymore. Let me just die here.

_**Find me here….**_

_**And speak to me….**_

…_..Tsukune?_

My head snapped up. I could've sworn I heard Moka's voice. But it may be my imagination.

…_.Tsukune? Can you hear me?_

That definitely wasn't my imagination. I stood up.

"MOKA!" I shouted into the darkness….. I looked up ahead and I saw light. It was small, but it gave me hope. I begin to run to the light's direction.

_**I want to feel you….**_

_**I need to hear you…**_

"MOKA!" I shouted again. I needed to hear her. I needed to touch her. I want see her again.

_I'm here Tsukune…_

"Where?" I pleaded desperately.

_..Follow the light…_

I continued to run, following in the light's direction.

_**You are the light…**_

_**That's leading me…**_

I didn't stop running . I continued to run even though the light seemed so far away. All of sudden, the light's intensity increased. It got too bright and I had to shield my eyes. When I opened my eyes I was at my dorm room.

_**To the place…**_

_**Where I find peace….again…**_

_Keep walking Tsukune…Find me…_

I followed and started walking.I got out of my dorms. I'm happy that I could see her again. Even though it's a hallucination, even though its not real to me, I don't care. I just want to be here with her.

_**You are the strength…**_

_**That keeps me walking…**_

I continued walking until I reached the school. Everything was empty. It doesn't matter. I walked into the school, hoping to see her.

_**You are the hope…**_

_**That keeps me trusting…**_

I looked everywhere for her. At the cafeteria, the news paper club room, the classroom. Everywhere. But I couldn't find her. I was getting anxious.

…_I'm here Tsukune…Don't give up._

I frowned. 'Here' could be anywhere. So where was she?

_**You are the life…**_

_**To my soul…**_

Suddenly, realization hit my like a brick. How could I forget? I started running. How could I forget such a place? Our special place.

The place that we first met.

I ran desperately hoping that she was there. Waiting for me.

And she was there. With a beauty and grace that can rival the goddesses. Her silver hair gleaming in the weak sun, like diamonds are embedded into her hair, and her ruby red eyes gleaming with happiness.

_**You are my purpose…**_

_**You're everything…**_

She ran to me and embraced me. I hugged her tightly to me, never wanting to let go. I can't believe how real she felt. Her warm skin, her soft hair. Everything about her is real. I can't believe that I'm holding this beauty in my arms.

"You found me" she whispered, looking up to me. I smiled and nodded. I brush a few strands of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. I couldn't stop looking into those ruby eyes. To other people, it may appear fearsome. But to me, it's the most precious jewels.

_**And how can I stand here with you…**_

_**And not be moved by you…**_

We sat under a tree, content with holding each other. We didn't speak, wanting to treasure the moment. She snuggled up to me and I smiled. I put and arm around her waist and pulled her closer. I felt her fingers trace the tattoo on my face. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the fact that she touching me. Her fingers trailed down to my neck, where she used to bite me. I opened my eyes in surprise when she unbuttoned my shirt and continued to trace the tattoo mark down to the right side of my chest. The tattoo mark had spread to shoulder, down to my right arm and the right side of my back. Her eyes became sad when she started tracing the scars.

I stopped her and brought it up to my face. I leaned into her palm as her thumb stroked my cheek. She smiled softly.

"Your eyes. What happened?" she asked.

"It's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it" I said sadly. I don't want to ruin this moment by telling her about the experiments and all. I let out an involuntary yawn. She smiled and patted her lap. I got the message. I lay down and settled my head on her lap. I smiled as I closed my eyes.

_**Would you tell me how could it be…**_

_**Any better than this…**_

I felt her fingers brush through my hair. She was massaging and scratching my scalp lightly at the same time. I smiled again. This felt right. This felt like home. Whatever fear I have, well, for now, its all gone. When was the last time I felt so peaceful?

_**You calm the storms…**_

_**And you give me rest…**_

She started humming a melody. Her voice was soothing. I think she's humming a lullaby. Maybe she's trying to put me to sleep? I gave out a quiet chuckle at that thought. Falling asleep in a dream. That would be a first. I felt her fingers skim down my face, tracing my features. I couldn't help but to shiver at her touch. I wanted more. But this would do for now.

_**You hold me in you hands…**_

_**You won't let me fall…**_

Her hand traveled lower, tracing the 'X' shaped scar on my chest, and tracing the other scars. I shivered again and I knew she would notice this time. I don't have to look to know that she's smiling. Her hand continued to caress my chest and abdomen, while the other was playing with my hair. I wish time would stop right now, so that I could enjoy this moment. So that I could be here with her forever.

_**You still my heart…**_

_**And you take my breath away…**_

I opened my eyes as I watched her. When I was younger, I wonder how does the goddesses look like. But now, my question has been answered. I remembered, when we both used to go to school together, I couldn't help but to marvel her beauty when she does the simplest things, like flipping her hair or waving her hand or when she sleeps. Her beauty is breathtaking especially when she smiles or laugh. And I promised that I would do anything within my power to protect her and see her smile.

I sat up, and it startled her. Her eyes held a question. What's wrong? I shook my head, and gave a smile of assurance. I pulled her closer and I kissed her. She was surprised with this gesture but she kissed me back happily. I felt her arms slip around my neck and she pulled me closer, deepening the kiss.

_**Would you take me in…**_

_**Take me deeper now…**_

I kissed her with more passion, making up for all the lost years. So what if this is a dream? To hell with it. Dream or not, this feels real to me. I could hear a low moan coming from her and I smiled into the kiss. I left my lips from her mouth and left a trail of kisses down to her neck. She let out a contented sigh. I teased her neck, kissing, licking, and nipping it in affection.

_**Cause you're all I want…**_

_**You're all I need…**_

We began to pounce on each other playfully, kissing, scratching, and biting. For the first time in many years I felt truly happy. I never knew a person could feel such happiness. Such a euphoric and blissful feeling. I felt home. Where ever she may be, she's my home.

_**You're everything…**_

_**Everything…**_

After a while of being playful with each other, we decided to just lay down and enjoy each other's company. She snuggled into my chest, and I put my arms around her waist and pulled her close. The silence wasn't uncomfortable at all. I was grateful for it, as a matter of fact. After a while, Moka sat up. She looked sad as she smiled softly.

"What's wrong?" I asked worriedly, scanning around for any possible threat.

"Nothing…it's just…" she trailed off, biting her lower lip.

"Just?" I asked, prodding her gently.

"It's time for you to wake up, Tsukune" she said sadly.

"What?" I frowned. I didn't want to. She stood up and she helped me onto my feet. She smiled again. It wasn't sad. It was an honest smile. For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.

"Wake up Tsukune. Wake up for me. And find me. I'll be waiting for you" she said. As she said those words, everything faded into the darkness again. But it wasn't uncomfortable like before. No, it was warm. We were both alone in the darkness.

"No, don't go. Don't leave me!" I begged desperately, trying to reach out to her. She started to drift away…getting further and further out of my reach.

…_I'll be here Tsukune…_

"MOKA!" I screamed again. No, after so long, I didn't want to lose her again. Not this time. I started running towards her direction.

…_I'll always be here Tsukune…_

I stopped running, allowing my tears to flow from my eyes. But she was right, I have to wake up. If I don't, how am I supposed to find her.

…_Now…Awaken…_

I opened my eyes and everything was blue. I saw Eisuke standing right in front of my tank looking worried and astounded at the same time. I touched the cold glass. That's right, I was put in this tank for some weird experiment. I noticed that and the rest of the scientist looked astounded. The next thing I knew, I felt someone pulling me out of the tank, and I coughed. I felt cold and weak. So weak that I barely had the energy to stand. Eisuke scrambled to my direction and helped me climb down from the ladder. He knew I needed some support to walk.

He wrapped a towel around me and helped me make my way to a chair. I sat down and looked up at Eisuke questioningly.

"How long?" I managed to rasp out.

"3 days. You are one piece of work Tsuki, I'll give you that" he said, sounding amazed.

"What happened?" I asked weakly.

"Your transformation rate was _very _slow. For 3 days there wasn't much progress in you" interrupted before Eisuke said anything.

"And?" I asked.

"We were about to leave when all of a sudden, your progress rate started increasing in an alarming pace. Before we knew it, it was done" she said in awe. But that doesn't explain why I feel so weak.

"Then why the hell do I feel like crap, whereas Eisuke looks perfectly fine" I asked.

"Well I think its because of the sudden increase in the speed of your transformation. Your body haven't adopted to the blood yet. It will take a while. Why don't you go and get some rest first?" she said. I nodded. I managed to get up without any help, but walking was another story. Eisuke helped me to my room and made sure that I was able to take a shower without any accidents happening. I glared at him when asked if he wanted to help.

"What? I'm just asking. You might in there. It's slippery you know" he said defensively as I growled at him.

After I was done, I put a pair of boxers on and ate some food. But I wasn't hungry. I was _thirsty_. Eisuke got the message and went out to get some blood packs. I was struggling to keep my eyes open but thankfully he wasn't gone long. He got some blood packs. And he even had the liberty to get a cup.

"Thanks" I said gratefully as he carefully snip the edge of the pack and poured it into the cup.

"No problem man. Here, drink up" he said, handing me the cup. I took it and took a generous swig. I felt the warm blood run down my throat, easing the thirst a little. I looked at Eisuke.

"Have you fed yet?" I asked. He nodded.

"Don't worry about me. I'm good. You need anything else?" he asked. I shook my head.

"Thanks Eisuke, but I don't think I need anything else, other than sleep" I mumbled. He nodded and left. I finished up and put the cup aside. I slid into my bed and covered myself with the blanket.

I sighed as I thought about my dream. I closed my eyes, hoping to dream about her again. It didn't take long for sleep to claim me.


	5. Hope

**[A/N] **Fifth chapter! Sorry that I'm a bit sluggish on the updates. I've been busy with my band practice so yeah. And thank you very much **tripod762. **Don't worry, I'm not expecting much from you. But it really does mean a lot to me because you're willing to take your time to read my story and review it. For that, you have my deepest gratitude. And thank you to **Sefirot**! Your support is very much appreciated! And as always, ENJOY!

**- Tokyo City -**

Akashiya Moka woke up with her heart racing. She sat up and covered her face with her hands, trying to rub some off the sleep off. _What was that dream?_, she asked herself. She dreamt about Tsukune again. But this dream was different from the other ones. He looked different in this dream. He had a tattoo on the right side of his face, the one very similar when he was in a ghoul state, and bright silver eyes. Every touch, every feeling in that dream was real. So real, that she could still feel her lips tingling from their kiss.

She blushed at that memory.

She glanced at her alarm clock. 7.30 a.m. She slid out of bed and went to the bathroom. She filled her cup with water and put some herbal mixture in it. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. She went about with her morning routine. But the whole time, her thoughts was occupied about that dream. He looked so sad when she asked him about his eyes. She remembered his warm skin when she traced his scars. There were old ones, but there were also new ones. By the time she was done with her breakfast, it was already 10.00 a.m. _Oh no! Ryuu would be here soon! _she thought as she quickly got dressed.

Takahiro Ryuu has been her friend for for 4 years. She met him in her college year. He's a dragon from a noble family, and everyone knows that a vampire's power can be easily rivaled by a dragon. Although he's a noble, he doesn't flaunt his powers at all. Both of them had their seal taken off when they were 21, for they had reached the age of maturity, and the age where they will stop aging physically. Moka's father was pleased when he met him, but of course pleased for the wrong reasons. Ryuu was only a friend to her. She knew he wanted to be more than friends, but he didn't push it. He was infinitely patient with her.

Just like Tsukune.

She sighed when she thought about him. She couldn't stop the tears that were already flowing down her cheeks. Even after all these years, she still wept for him. She still loved him, and she couldn't get over him. Ryuu is a nice guy. He may be _like_ Tsukune, but he _isn't _ Tsukune. She knew that very well, and she felt guilty for comparing them both. If only he would find another girl. She asked him about this before. He just shrugged and said "Not interested. Besides, I'm not good looking. So why bother?". But that was a complete lie.

Ryuu was almost 6 feet tall, with clean cut features. He had navy blue hair, which was long but neat. His eyes are a lighter shade of his hair, which reminds me of the calm oceans. He had a body which any girl would die for and a smile that could make your day. Even though he said he wasn't interested, they both know that's a lie. Moka knew it wasn't fair that she treated him this way. But she just _couldn't_ let herself get over Tsukune. Especially after that dream. She was about to call Ryuu to see if he was here, when the door bell rang. She opened the door and smiled at him.

"Good morning Moka-chan. Ready to go?" he said with and easy smile. She nodded.

"Hold on, let me get my bag first" she said. She took her bag and stepped out of her apartment. She locked the door and followed Ryuu. Every weekday mornings, she would follow Ryuu to work. He lives a couple of blocks away from the apartment, so it was easier to travel. He insisted on letting her ride with him to work, even though she refused. They both work at her father's company. Her father's company deals with various types of business, from real estate to the movie business. Her job is to make sure the income for the company ends up in the bank and propose new ideas to prosper her family business.

Lately though, the family business has been doing exceedingly well, since emerging with Ryuu's family. That's why, they both decided they would travel to work together. Ryuu helps with whatever he can, though it always ends up that he does more work than Moka, much to her dissatisfaction. She took a seat in her office and began to sort out the paper work.

"Hey Moka, how bout we have dinner tonight? Its been awhile since we both hung out" Ryuu said as he began to take some files out from a nearby shelf.

"I'm not sure Ryuu. I was thinking of visiting an old friend of mine. But tell you what, if we finish our work early, we can have early dinner" she said as she began flipping through the papers. She wasn't lying. Ever since she had that dream, she had one person in her mind who could explain some things to her.

Sendo Yukari.

Its been years since she saw her little witch friend. 7 years to be exact. She never saw Mizore, Kurumu and Yukari since Tsukune's funeral. She stopped doing what ever she was doing and took a deep breath. She won't cry now. She took a couple of deep breaths to calm her self before she continued her work.

"Sure sure. We won't be eating anything fancy though" he said not looking at her. He was busy getting some figures done.

"Anything" Moka said. She hoped that Ryuu wouldn't notice that she was on the verge of tears.

The rest of the day past by in a flash, both busy with sorting out figures and numbers and at the same time, finishing up their presentation for their new idea for the company's business. Unfortunately, it was getting late, and there was no time for dinner.

"I'm sorry Ryuu, but its getting late, and I really need to see this friend of mine" Moka said apologetically as she got into the car with Ryuu.

"Its fine. There's always tomorrow. Do you need me to send you there?" he asked as he started the engine and put it into gear.

"No need. I told my father to send a car over to my apartment. It should be there when we get back" she said. She turned her attention to her window, watching the cars go by. Who would've thought that Akashiya Moka, the daughter of Count Shuzen would live in Tokyo city, a human's city and live like a human. She always thought that she and Tsukune would end up with each other, even though back then he hadn't confessed to her. She didn't have to wait though, she was sure he would tell her his feeling sooner or later.

But all of that changed when Hokuto showed up.

After loosing his family, Tsukune had been devastated. But she went through the pain with him, reminding him everyday that she was there for him, and that he would never be alone. But fate has played its cards cruelly. When Hokuto showed up at the academy again, she could see rage in Tsukune's eyes. She had never seen such an expression on him before.

And it scared her.

Up till this day, she still blamed herself for his death. Had she been more careful, Tsukune wouldn't have taken that hit for her. She touched the dragon emblem that he gave her. His words still echoed in her ears.

_Remember that I will always be watching over you. Don't think I'll be lost forever, okay?_

She knew that he would be watching her. She knew that very well. She could _sense _him there. But for 7 years, she always kept hope that he's alive somewhere. Even though she saw him die right in her arms. She still kept hope. Its like he never left.

Ryuu watched Moka from the corner of his eye. He knew that she loved another man, even though he's dead. He watched her as she touched her dragon emblem. The one thing she treasured most. It hurt him. It hurt him so much. He wanted her all for himself, wanted to stop the tears that she shed for that guy.

Aono Tsukune.

He knew that he died protecting Moka. And he knew that Tsukune is the only one that occupies her heart. But hey, it doesn't hurt to try, right? He knows that Moka knows that he wants their relationship to be more that friends. But he was pretty sure that she wouldn't let him. If only he could tell her how he felt, how deep is his love for her, how much he's willing to sacrifice. But he knew that would not be possible, without hurting her. Ryuu is a dragon that masters the element of water. And Moka is a vampire. And her biggest weakness? Water. Sometimes, he cursed the gods for making him a water dragon.

They pulled up in front of her apartment. He's been inside her apartment before. It's a huge space with 4 bedrooms and a master bedroom, and a freaking huge living room. Her kitchen is probably half the size of her living room. But it's the atmosphere inside her apartment that's always bugging him. Its always lonely and sad. Like her heart.

"Thanks Ryuu for the ride. And sorry about today's dinner" Moka said as she got out of the car. She closed the door and he opened the window, so that he could continue talking to her.

"No problem. Have a nice night" he said. She nodded and walked away. He watched her as she got into an expensive looking car. He wasn't surprised though. The Shuzen family is _loaded_ with cash. It'll take a couple of centuries to finish all that money. He drove off when she did, and he head back to his place.

Moka drove as fast as she could, not because she wanted to put the car to the test, though she was enjoying it, but because she really wanted to go see Yukari and get some answers. She pulled up at a housing area, where she's currently living now, with her boyfriend Gorou Hayate. Hayate is a mage from a well known family. The Gorou family is a respected family within the mage,wizard and witches community, and Moka was really happy for her. Though they hadn't talked face to face for a long time, they still kept in touch through the internet.

She got out of her car and made her way to the porch of the house. She made sure that she was presentable, and rang the door bell. She could hear some shuffling noises before the door was opened. She stood face to face with a very attractive 20 year old witch. Yukari stared at her with a shocked expression.

"Umm hey Yukari-chan" Moka said timidly. Yukari was still staring at her with her mouth wide open. She shook her head before launching at Moka and giving her a bear hug. Moka almost lost her balance but managed to stand firm.

"Y-Yukari-chan! C-can't breath!" Moka gasped. Yukari immediately let go, blushing red with embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry Moka-san! But its just, I haven't seen you for _so_ long!" she said. Moka could see tears of happiness forming at the rims of her eyes. She smiled at her.

"20 years old and still no difference in you eh, Yukari-chan?" Moka teased. She blushed and pouted.

"You're so mean Moka-san" she said with an adorable pout. Moka had been joking though. Yukari had grown from a childish kid to a very mature woman. At least more mature than Kurumu. And a notable change within Yukari is that she stopped using 'desu' in all her sentences. She's become a bright young woman, with proportions that could rival Kokoa's . Moka noticed that she had grown her hair to her waist, unlike her 'magical girl' hairstyle before. But her bangs are still cut above her eyebrows.

Yukari ushered Moka inside led her to the living room. She sat on a couch while Yukari brought out some tea. Up till that moment, she never realized how much she had missed her little witch friend. Although she had been very clingy during their school days, Moka treated her like a younger sister. Yukari came out some time later, one hand with green tea, while another with herbal tea. Moka smiled. After all these years, Yukari hadn't forgotten about her weakness to water.

"Here you go Moka-san" Yukari said, handing the herbal tea to Moka. Moka accepted with a "Thank you" and sipped her tea. She was surprised at how good it taste.

"Wow Yukari, you can really make some good tea" Moka said, taking another sip. Yukari laughed.

"Its one of the many skills I acquired over the years" she said, taking a sip of her drink. They set their tea on the table. Moka took a deep breath.

"So what brings you to my home Moka-san? Did Kurumu-san sent you some weird potion again?" Yukari asked with a frown. She remembered the last time she sent Moka a so called "skin care" potion. Luckily, Moka was wise enough not to touch it. But unfortunately, Kokoa happened to be there and she tried it on her skin. To her horror, she turned pink and stayed that way for 2 weeks. Moka shuddered at that memory.

"No. It's just… well I wanted to talk to you about something" she said, hesitating a little. Yukari noticed but decided not to say anything. She's never seen the vampire so…_agitated_ before. _What could be bothering Moka-san?_ Yukari thought.

"Go ahead Moka-san. I'm all ears" Yukari encouraged. Moka took a deep breath before she started talking.

"What I'm about to say might sound crazy to you. But I'm really hoping you can understand" Moka said quietly. Yukari just rolled her eyes.

"Moka-san. I had to put up with that big-breasted moron Kurumu for 3 years. Not only did she said crazy things but she also _did_ crazy things. And half the time I had to waste my magic dropping brass tubs onto her whenever she molested me. I hoped that would've made her smarter but it proved me wrong." she huffed. Moka giggled at that. Yukari and Kurumu both shared somewhat a love-hate relationship. But they always get along very well at the end of the day.

"Right. Well anyways, ever since Tsukune….has left us, I've been having dreams about him. It used to be almost everyday. Over the years, I would dream about him once in awhile" Moka said sadly. The young witch nodded in understanding. Ever since Tsukune passed away, Moka and the rest went into a deep state of depression. Especially Moka. She hadn't fed for months, causing her to be anemic the whole time. Eventually, they became themselves again. But not completely. Part of them died along with Tsukune.

When they graduated, each of them exchanged addresses, promising to visit once in awhile. Kurumu, Mizore, Fong Fong and Kokoa had dropped by to visit. But Moka hadn't. Yukari knew she hadn't completely moved on.

"But this morning, I had the most bizarre dream ever. And its normal Yukari" Moka said, her red ruby eyes looking straight into brown ones.

"This time he looked _so_ much more different. It's like this whole other person…" Moka continued to mumble. Yukari frowned. Different? How so?

"Different how Moka-san?" Yukari urged. This was getting interesting.

"Well, he's taller…about 6 foot? And definitely more good looking" Moka said before she could stop herself. She was blushing like a teen again. Yukari smiled at that sight.

"And he's pale, you know? Like a vampire. But the thing is, he doesn't exactly have the appearance of a vampire. Its like he's mixed blooded or something. And remember that time when he turned into a ghoul?" Moka asked. Yukari nodded.

"Well, he had the tattoos on his face right? Well, in my dreams, he was perfectly sane, but he had that tattoo. The tattoo however, wasn't just on his face. It spread down to his neck, shoulder, back, and arm. And his eyes were silver. Like stars. And his hair had some silver highlights" she said describing him more animatedly now. Yukari was clearly interested in this as she was paying attention. Her eyes looked like they were going to pop out any minute.

"Its like, he was searching for me. And he found me. We were at the bus stop, where we first met" Moka said, her eyes softening. She remembered telling Tsukune to find her. And telling him to wake up.

…_Now…Awaken…_

_But awaken from what?_ Moka thought. Both of them were quiet for awhile, not speaking. They were immersed in her thoughts. Yukari's head was working like a machine now, making all the wheels turn. Something about this seemed familiar. _But what was it? _ she thought. All of a sudden it clicked.

"Moka-san, there could be more than you think in that dream" Yukari said excitedly. Yes, there could be hope.

"What do you mean?" Moka said, giving the young witch her undivided attention.

"Well, I read about this before somewhere…but I can't quite recall where…" she trailed off. But she shrugged it off and continued.

"You gave Tsukune-san your blood right? I think that somewhat explains it. But I don't know if its true or what, so don't put too much hope in it" she said. The vampire nodded.

"Well, from what I read, when a vampire gives a human his or her blood, the human will either turn into a vampire or a ghoul, or in Tsukune-san's case, a human that was stuck in between those two. However the transformation may end up, they have one thing in common; they form a link between the two" Yukari explained. If what she read in the books is right, then they might have hope.

"A link?" Moka asked. She didn't know it was possible, but Yukari might be right. When she gave Tsukune her blood, she could feel a bond formed between those two. She didn't really thought of it then, and now she regretted deeply that she hadn't.

"Well I can't exactly explain thoroughly, since my resources were limited. Hayate-kun might know something of it. Hold on, let me call him down" Yukari said, as she hopped out from her seat and scrambled to the stairs, yelling Hayate's name. Moka rolled her eyes. Same old Yukari.

A minute later, Hayate came down. Moka was surprised, as she imagined a nerdy looking man to be Yukari's boyfriend (though she was guilty of thinking that way). But she was pleasantly surprised to see a _very_ good looking man, about 23, to stand in front of her. He was a head taller than Yukari. He had jet black, wavy hair that came down slightly below his shoulder. His eyes were amber green, and she could tell that this man held more wisdom than she gave credit for. _Damn, Yukari scored a good one. Who knew mages could look like supermodels? _ Moka mused.

"Hello. My name is Gorou Hayate. It's nice to meet you" he said bowing down slightly.

"Akashiya Moka. A pleasure" Moka said, bowing in return.

"Akashiya Moka? As in the one of the four daughters from the Shuzen family?" he said, surprised. Moka just nodded.

"It's an honor to have someone as highly ranked as you in our humble home. Please, have a seat, Moka-sama" he said, motioning her to take a seat. Yukari took a seat beside Moka and Hayate took a seat opposite of them.

"Moka would do" she said. She wasn't into formalities like her family.

"Moka it is then. So how can I be of service?" he asked.

"Well, I was explaining to her about the link between a vampire and a human when a vampire gives their blood" Yukari said, breaking it down to Hayate. Moka knew that Yukari wasn't just into the knowledge. No, she was hoping that this would be true. If it were, then there would be a chance that Tsukune's alive.

Then she could see him again.

She shook her head and focused on matters at hand.

"So is it possible?" Moka asked eagerly.

"I assume that you gave your blood to a human?" Hayate said, slightly shocked. Moka nodded.

"Well this is going to be harder than" he frowned.

"What do you mean dear?" Yukari asked gently.

"Well, I do not mean to insult your race in anyway Moka, but truth to be told, pride and arrogance is part off a vampire's nature. To them, all creatures which are lower to them are like toys. It is exceedingly rare that a vampire would give a human their blood. Because of that, the resources for that research are limited. But that doesn't mean its not there of course" Hayate said.

"I understand. But its possible though" Moka asked.

"Yes. From what I have studied during my internship in the mage's academy, when a vampire has given human their blood, they would automatically form a bond between them. A link between their minds. Like they're soul mates. But this is only when a vampire truly have feelings for that human. Over the years, there has been such occurrence, but very few have been recorded. But a vampire must be ready for the outcome of their human's transformation. They could either be a vampire, a ghoul, or stuck in between" Hayate explained. This, Moka knew all too well. And so did Yukari. But they decided not to say anything.

"Whatever the outcome may be, they would remain immortal of course. But the vampire must be careful. If their creation were to run wild, they will be held responsible" Hayate said.

"That, any vampire would know. But I'm more interested about this link that you mentioned. Is it possible to communicate through this link" Moka questioned. Hayate leaned back and thought about it.

"It could be. If the link is strong enough, they can converse through each other in dreams. But then again, this part I'm not quite sure. Like I said, very few of such occurrences have been recorded, so I cannot prove this to be right" Hayate said. But to Moka, it was more than enough. It has given her a feeling that she almost forgot.

Hope.

Realizing that he's not needed anymore, Hayate excused himself and left the two women to talk.

"So that dream of yours….it could be that Tsukune was trying to find you" Yukari said. Even she felt more hopeful. More alive in many years.

"Maybe. But like Hayate said, this could not be true. But that doesn't mean I'm going to give up" Moka said with determination. Yukari nodded. The young witch knew, that once Moka had made her mind up about something, she won't give up until she's accomplished it.

"Then what about Ryuu?" Yukari asked. She hated herself for bringing this question up. But she and Moka knew that the vampire had to give him an answer sooner or later.

"I…don't know Yukari-chan. To be honest, I could really see him as a friend only. I cannot see him more than that. I knew I'm being a bitch and not wanting to get over Tsukune…But after what Hayate said, I'm not going to give up. Besides, Ryuu is a dragon. He's immortal, like me. He will find someone else in time" Moka said guiltily. As much as she hated hurting her best friend, she knew it would be for the best. She would be hurting him even more. Yukari nodded in understanding.

Moka got up to leave and Yukari followed her to the entrance.

"What are you going to do now Moka-san?" Yukari asked as she opened the door for the vampire.

"I'm not sure. But I know a good place to start" Moka said and the witch immediately understood.

"Youkai Academy" they said in unison.

"And next week is…"Yukari trailed off. Moka knew what she meant by that. Next week would be Tsukune's death anniversary. His 7th year.

She bid the witch goodbye and got into the car, speeding off into the night, feeling as hopeful as ever. She would find her Tsukune, her human, her mate.

Her soul mate.

And nothing is going to stop her.


	6. Plans

**[A/N] **Sixth chapter! Thank you very much **xzxbassxzx **and **TheElementalKingOfHell** for your review and your support! Things are starting to pick up from this point onwards and I can't wait to write the next chapter. ENJOY! :D

Gengo Eisuke has never been worried sick about anyone before. But this was a first. After seeing the state that Tsukune was in, he was fretting over him like a worried mother. He couldn't help it. There was something about Tsukune that everyone can't seem to resist. After leaving his room, he head to his room and cleaned his self up. He got on some fresh pair of clothes and made his way back to the lab. He saw Hatsumi sitting on a chair and analyzing some data. Hey grabbed a chair and put it beside her.

"Working hard as usual eh doc?" he asked as he sat down.

"Yeah. I'm going through Tsukune's status report. This is….some weird stuff I'm getting here" she murmured as she flipped through the pages.

"This is Tsuki we're talking about doc. He makes impossible looks easy" he joked as he stretched. Hatsumi just rolled her eyes.

"Speaking of which, how is he?" Hatsumi asked.

"He fed on some blood and fell asleep. He should be fine in a couple of hours I suppose. He just needs to rest for now" Eisuke answered. Hatsumi nodded and stretched. She really needed some sleep or she's gonna zonk out here. She was about to excuse herself when she heard an all-too-familiar voice behind her.

"Hatsumi! You would not believe how good our luck is!"exclaimed a male scientist as he entered the lab.

"Enlighten me Ken" Hatsumi said in a sarcastic tone. She really needed to catch up on her sleep. Togohara Ken has been one of her closest friends since she was here. He wasn't an asshole like most of the room here. He was quite an attractive male. Even in his thirties, women still find him irresistible.

Ken saw Eisuke sitting down beside Hatsumi and smiled at him.

"What's up Eisuke? How are you feeling?" Ken asked. Eisuke smiled.

"I'm good man" he replied. To Eisuke, Ken is probably one of the very few scientist that made it to his 'Not-an-asshole' list. He really liked this guy, since he doesn't treat him like a freak like the rest of them.

Even though he was one.

"How's your friend doing? I heard that he pulled of some last minute stunt?" Ken said as he grabbed a nearby chair and sat down.

"Like they say, all in a day's work. Its Tsuki we're talking about here. He'll be fine. He's in his room, resting" Eisuke said happily. Ken nodded and smiled. He was fond of that Tsukune boy as well.

"How did you find out?" Hatsumi asked, not taking her eyes off her clipboard the whole time. The faster she finished this, the faster she would get her sleep.

"Word travels fast. And congrats by the way. But like I said, today, lady luck had decided to choose us" Ken said proudly.

"How come?" Eisuke asked.

"You know that I'm in charge in the vampire's department, right?" Ken asked. Eisuke rolled his eyes. Of course he knew. He was the one who helped Tsukune to get rid of his ghoul side.

"Anyway, today, we achieved something that only other people can dream off" Ken said eagerly.

"Screw the suspense and get to the point Ken" Hatsumi said in a irritated tone. She really needed her sleep. And Ken is not helping in the slightest bit.

"Fine fine. We managed to find a cure for the vampire's weakness" Ken said proudly. Both Eisuke and Hatsumi immediately snapped their heads up. Their expression was priceless.

"Repeat that one more time" Eisuke said in a breathless whisper.

"Like I said, we managed to find a cure for the vampire's weakness against water and sun. With this, they can take a bath like a normal human and walk in a sun like a normal human. Unfortunately though, vampires can still die if they kill each other or have a stake driven through their hearts. It's their choice" Ken said with a shrug. Hatsumi and Eisuke could only stare at him with their mouths wide open.

After awhile of chit-chat, Ken decided to excuse himself, leaving Eisuke and Hatsumi in the lab. Eisuke was getting hungry again and he could see that Hatsumi was ready to fall over any second now.

"Hey doc, how bout a lunch date before you fall asleep?" Eisuke asked getting up. Hatsumi looked up at him questioningly before shrugging and following him to the cafeteria. Hatsumi ordered a bowl of ramen leaving Eisuke to order his own food. She chose a secluded spot, where there were no security cameras watching and no one to eaves drop. She knew that when ever Eisuke asked her for a 'lunch date' it meant that he wanted to talk about something.

Moments later, Eisuke walked over to her table, carrying bowls of noodles, bread and some other junk food, accompanied by shakes, smoothies and god know what. Hatsumi could only stare at him in disbelief.

"There's no way in hell you're gonna finish all of that by yourself" Hatsumi said. She was willing to bet her money on it.

"Psh, you can watch" he said playfully. And true to his word, Hatsumi watched in utter disbelief, as Eisuke cleaned bowl after bowl of his meal, and finishing up every single bread and junk food. He sucked up all his drinks dry. And he finished eating before Hatsumi.

"You gonna eat that?" Eisuke asked playfully as she slurped some noodles. She glared at him.

"Eesh. I'll take that as a no then" Eisuke said, shrugging his shoulder. He stared absent mindedly at the wall behind Hatsumi. Once she was done eating, she pushed away her bowl and looked at him.

"What is it you want Eisuke?" she said in a serious tone. Eisuke looked at her. This time, it wasn't that joking way he'd looked at you. It was dead serious.

"Tell me Hatsumi, how long have you been here?" he said in a serious tone. Hatsumi was quite taken aback by this.

"Er…I'm not sure to be honest. I lost track of time here" she replied honestly. It was true. She didn't know how old she is anymore. But she knew she was in her twenties.

"And how did you end up here?" Eisuke asked. She narrowed her eyes at him, wondering where is this leading. But the expression on his face told her that he wasn't' playing around.

"When I was young, I was the top student in my school. I was able to skip grades because of my academic achievements. As a result, I graduated high school at the age of 15, whereas a normal teen would enter high school. I decided to go for the medical line, as my interest lies in there. One night, I was at home alone. My parents went out for a friend's party. I was watching TV when I heard someone knocked the door. When I opened it wasn't my parents, but it was a bunch of guys in black suites. They kidnapped me and brought me here. They kept me here and trained me in the medical line. That's how I got here" Hatsumi summarized. It didn't bother her as much as she thought it would, to her surprise.

Eisuke leaned back and watched the woman in front of him. Although she seemed somewhat, _tolerant_ of this place, he knew that her heart longed for freedom. And with Tsukune's current condition, he really needed a doctor to watch over him. And Chuugo Hatsumi was the perfect person.

"What would you say, if I were to tell you, that I have an escape plan ready. And no, its not as sloppy as it was like the past 3 times. That I can assure you" Eisuke asked her, looking into her eyes. Hatsumi was still for a moment, before she burst out laughing. Eisuke smirked. He knew it was coming. _But in the end, you'd still follow us_, he thought.

"Sure, like I'd believe you. Nice joke Eisuke. That really lightened up my day" Hatsumi chuckled. But the look in his eyes told her that he wasn't joking. That he was dead serious, and he would do whatever it takes for her to see him seriously.

"Oh my god…you're serious" she said. He was either stupid or had more balls than she gave credit for.

"So you want in, or out?" Eisuke asked.

"What about Tsukune?" she asked. She hoped that he wouldn't be left behind to face more torture than this place had to offer.

"He's following of course. That's why I need you. With his current state, anything can happen. That's why I asked you. So what's your answer?" Eisuke asked. But he didn't need to ask. He already knew the answer.

Hatsumi knew that as well. She gave out a quiet sigh. She managed to put up with this place for god knows how many years. And she's definitely not going to end up dying here. So why waste the chance?

"Gengo Eisuke, you're lucky that I'm a predictable women and a trustworthy one. Or I'd report to the authorities about your plans by now" she said in a teasing tone. He laughed.

"Welcome aboard doc. After we leave, we're going to find my Yuko first, and Tsukune's Moka" he said hopefully. Hatsumi could see longing in his face.

"Tell me, what's this Yuko like?" Hatsumi asked. She was curious. He hardly talks about her. Just like Tsukune.

"Well, I'll just summarize it up for you. Yuko was a vampire when I met her. And I was a human. Just like when Tsukune met Moka. Except, Yuko wasn't a proud vampire. No, she was kind and gentle. Totally opposite of a vampire's nature" he said admiringly. He looked star struck as he talked about her. Hatsumi listened with amusment.

"I was 14 when I met her. My parents didn't know about her and neither did her parents. We started out friends of course. After a few years, I managed to muster up the courage to ask her out. And to my surprise, she said yes. Things were working well for us, until one night, this group of male vampires came out and surrounded us. It was pretty obvious that they wanted her, _my _Yuko" he said in a tone that reflected hatred.

"I was only human back then. But I didn't care. I was willing to sacrifice my life for her. I tried holding them off, but they got me real good. I was pretty sure that I saw the face of death in front of me. I remembered Yuko was crying for me. Before I know it, she did the unthinkable. She bit me. She gave enough blood to me so that I could turn into a vampire. I managed to fight the group off. But I got hurt quite badly in process. As a result, I ended up feeding from them as well" he said. He remembered the feeling of blood lust. Wanting to kill those who would hurt the one he loved most.

"Of course being a vampire is big deal, and to make matters worst, giving a human a vampire's blood. That's a big rule she broke. But she didn't care. She managed to get someone to make me a seal, and seal me off. We fed from each other, making things easier of course. Until one day, things changed" Eisuke said sadly.

"What happened?" she promped softly.

"We were going on a date as usual, when there were these men, all in white came for me. They knocked me out. When I woke up, I found myself here" he said quietly. He could still remember Yuko's desperate plea for them to let him go. Her screams still rang in his ears.

"I see…" Hatsumi trailed off. She really didn't know what to say.

"A couple of months after that, I met Tsuki. He's a nice guy. And better looking than me" he said in a playful tone. He didn't want to make the atmosphere gloomy.

"That's not true. You know, I still remember , that one time, the female staff held a vote, to see who was the best looking male here, Tsukune came in first of course. But surprisingly, you came in second" she said. She wasn't lying. Eisuke was one of the _most_ hottest here. He was about 6 feet 2 with a well built body. He had a very masculine feature and a sharp nose. His eyes were deep a deep maroon red, which reminds her of the color of a rose. His hair were made in a spiky do, with red highlights, unlike Tsukune's hair, which were long with silver highlights. Hatsumi wasn't sure whether this was caused by the experiments or by their vampire blood. But it made them look like gods.

"I need to get some rest Eisuke. We'll talk about this later. Oh, and do me a favor would you? When Tsukune gets up, bring him to Ken for a check up" she said as she got up and stretched. Eisuke nodded and watched her made her way to her room. _Ken, huh?_ Eisuke thought. Maybe he could get him to follow them. _And get some of those cures as well_ Eisuke thought. He went to Tsukune's room to check up on him. He was still fast asleep.

Eisuke went to look for Ken, who was in the lab doing some work in the computer. Ken saw Eisuke and waved at him.

"Let Eisuke in" Ken told his secretary and opened the door for him. Eisuke stepped in and thanked the girl, who was blushing furiously. Ken was chuckling at the sight.

"What can I do for you Eisuke?" Ken said as he finished his remaining work on his computer.

"Nothing much. Say, are you free now? Have you eaten yet?" Eisuke asked as he begin playing with a paperweight.

"I haven't yet. We can go grab some lunch after this. Give me 5" Ken said. Eisuke nodded and as Ken typed furiously. He got up and began looking around Ken's office. _This guy has more books than the library's got to offer_ he mused as he began surveying the books. Ken announced he was done and they made to the cafeteria again. Eisuke didn't want to eat, as he had eaten just now. So he chose the same spot where he and Hatsumi sat and waited for Ken to arrive.

"So what's up?" Ken asked as he dug into his food.

"Ken. Do you like working here?" Eisuke said. Ken was taken back with Eisuke's straightforwardness. He almost choked on his noodles, but managed to make it go through the right hole. He looked at the man and saw that his maroon eyes were serious.

"You know the answer to that man" Ken said quietly. Ken _hated_ this place. Ken was one of the most respected scientist back at his place. He got an offer to work at this place, thinking that it would boost his reputation and help him with his research. But instead, he was robbed of his freedom. He forgot how the wind felt like against his skin, how the sunset and sunrise would look. He forgot everything.

"What do you have in mind Eisuke?" Ken said as he casually took a sip of his drink.

"Escape" he said simply.

"And you want to bring me along?" he snorted. Though Eisuke was a nice guy, he knew he wanted something in return

"Yeah. Not just cause I want something in return. Because you're not an ass. And you take really good care of us. And Hatsumi is coming along" Eisuke stated. He knew Ken had a soft spot for Hatsumi. Ken was surprised that Hatsumi would tag along. But then again, who wouldn't?

"You sure you won't screw up this time?" Ken asked. He remembered the other times. It was funny, when they tried, but scary when they got punished.

"Yep. Why do you think we're acting again after all these years?" Eisuke asked. Ken nodded. It was true. Over the years, the guards have been slacking off a bit. Even the slightest slack would be more than enough for Aono Tsukune and Gengo Eisuke. Since the security here has loosen up a little, now would be a good time.

"What do you want then?" Ken said as he finished up the remaining of his noodles.

"The cure" Eisuke said.

"You're serious?" Ken asked raising a brow. But the look from Eisuke said he was. He sighed.

"How many?" he asked quietly.

"As many as you can get". Ken nodded.

"When?"

"When Tsuki gets better. Oh and speaking of which, he's got an appointment with you later. Make sure he's good" Eisuke informed. _The sooner the better_ he thought. Ken nodded and they changed the topic, since the guards were on patrol.

Ken went back to the lab and Eisuke went back to Tsukune's room. _Get well fast Tsuki. Things are going to get interesting from here on out _Eisuke said as he watched the young man sleep. He heard Tsukune mumbling Moka's name and laughed quietly. Soon, the both of them will be able to taste freedom, and go see their loved ones.

Eisuke smiled.

The first smile of happiness in a long time.


	7. Escape

**[A/N] **Seventh chapter! Enjoy!

I opened my eyes and stared at the ceiling above. I dreamt about her again. I smiled. I decided to get up when I saw Eisuke sitting in the corner of the room reading a magazine. He saw me getting up and smiled.

"How're you doing?" he asked.

"Better. I just need to eat something" I muttered. I slid out of bed and stretched. I noticed that he was giving the magazine his undivided attention. I frowned.

"Please tell me that's _not _ a porno magazine" I said as I reached for a towel.

"Dude, you should seriously check out this month' issue! The girls are _hot_!" he said excitedly as he flipped through the pages. I just gave out a snort of disgust. I took a shower and put on some fresh clothes. I noticed that I was feeling a bit more sensitive to my environment. I could hear footsteps all the way to the cafeteria. Hmmm, this is interesting.

"So what's the agenda for the day?" I asked as I put on my socks and boots.

"You gotta see Ken for your check up, just to be sure that you're alright. Then we can grab some food" he said as he tossed the magazine aside and stood up.

"You better get rid of that" I growled as I stood up and made sure my boots fit perfectly.

"Hey man, I understand that you wanna be loyal to your girl and all, but you gotta loosen up at least _once_ in awhile right? It's not good to _hold_ it all in" he said with a wink. I looked at him with horror and disgust before rearranging my expression.

"Let's see what Yuko have to say about this" I said as I got out from my room, with Eisuke following beside me. I had the satisfaction of watching his face go pale for a moment.

"Come on man, I'm sure we can keep this between us" he whispered desperately. I just chuckled. I arrived at Ken's lab and saw him sitting behind his desk. He looked up and smiled when he saw us. To be honest, Ken is one of the very few guys that have my respect. He's not an ass and he doesn't show off at all.

"Hey Tsukune. How are you doing? Have a seat" he said as he stood up and took out a stethoscope and some medical things.

"I'm good" I said as I took a seat.

"Alright. I'm just gonna run a check up on you to see if your body has adapted to the blood" I nodded and let the man do his work.

When he was done, I stood up and stretched, waiting for Ken to tell me the results.

"Well, from the results, I can safely say that you're 100% good. And I also have some good news for you" he said happily, as he set his clip board down.

"Since your body has adapted completely with the dragon's blood, you don't have to feed often. Instead of feeding every 2 weeks like you usually do, you can now feed about every 3 months or so. _However_" Ken said before me or Eisuke could say anything.

"Let's say you were to use all your energy during combat, you have to feed a lot more in order to regain your energy back. At this point, you don't really need normal food to survive anymore. You can eat if you like, since it also helps with your regeneration rate. But it would be better for you take blood. Remember, blood is your primary meal, so don't be reckless." he said. I nodded. But there was something about the way he said don't be reckless. I glanced at Eisuke. His maroon eyes looked back.

_He knows. And he's following._

I decided not to bring the matter up, remembering that there are security camera's everywhere. Me and Eisuke excused ourselves and we head to the cafeteria. I took whatever they had to offer and sat where Eisuke sat. For some reason, this particular spot is secluded and there are no security devices or bugs. We put it to the test by saying a lot of things that we shouldn't know, and the authorities here didn't act on us. It's just plain weird.

I set the food in front of me and dug in. Eisuke just shook his head and watched me eat.

"What?" I asked with my mouth full.

"Dude, don't talk with your mouth full. Talk about having no table manners" he muttered. I just rolled my eyes and continued eating.

"So Eisuke, care to tell me how does Ken know?" I asked quietly. He just leaned back and looked at me.

"Hatsumi and Ken are following us" he said quietly. I nearly choked on my food.

"_What?_" I sputtered out. Ken, its understandable. But _Hatsumi_? No way.

"Why Hatsumi?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low.

"Tsuki, even though Ken said that you are fine now, I still don't want to take the chance. We both are still unstable you know" he said quietly. I couldn't argue with that logic.

"So what did you ask from Ken in return?" I asked taking another bite of my food. I knew Eisuke very well. He wouldn't bring Ken along unless there was something he want in return.

"Today, they managed to find a cure for the vampire's weakness. Meaning to say, if they were to take it, they will be immune to water and sun" Eisuke said. It took a lot of effort for me to not choke on my food again. If there was cure…then I could give it to Moka. And he could give it to Yuko. And they wouldn't be hurt by the simplest things. They could just live like a normal person.

Like a human.

"When?" I asked. Eisuke's eyes made a sweep around the cafeteria, making sure that no one is eaves dropping.

"After when you're done eating, go back to your room, and pack your clothes. I've packed mine so no worries. I'll pass you some sacks later, and I want you to fill them up with as many blood packs as you can. Make sure no one sees you. Bring your bag and the sacks to my room. I'll get Ken and Hatsumi" he said softly and casually, so that other people think we're just having a normal conversation. I nodded. I quickly finished up. We parted ways and I went back to my room, and started packing my clothes.

The good thing about this place is that, whenever we want to take a shower or change, the security camera would automatically turn off, giving us some privacy. But, it would only turn off for 5 minutes, so I have to be quick. I took off my shirt, and as I expected, the security camera turned off. I took this opportunity and quickly pulled a bag out from my cupboard, which I've kept hidden.

Using my natural abilities to move fast, I stuffed in all my clothes and quickly hid the bag under my bed. I glanced at my watch. 2 minutes. Not bad. Just then Eisuke came in with 4 sacks. I passed him my bag and went out of my room, making sure that nobody else would notice the sack. I went behind the cafeteria, to the fridge where all the blood packs are stored. It doesn't matter if I have to feed every 3 months or so. I'm not taking the risk of taking just a few. Who knows? Maybe we'll have to fight our way through. So might as well be prepared for it. I filled up all 4 sacks to the fullest. I looked around, and saw the guards were gossiping about something. Their backs were turned. I took this opportunity to dash past them. They wouldn't even notice.

Eisuke was in his room, and so was Hatsumi and Ken. I passed him 2 sacks, keeping the other 2 for myself. Ken passed Eisuke a small pouch.

"Here. There are 10 tubes in it" Ken said as Eisuke took it. He nodded and put it in his bag.

"Alright, let's go before the security camera turns on again" he said, picking up his bag. We all nodded and followed him.

Thankfully, its past lunch time. And everyone would be busy working. The cafeteria was empty, and no one was there, not even the chef. What many people know is that there is an emergency escape route, that leads underground. It's in the kitchen, where the chefs would be at. Luckily, there were only 2 of them. I gave Eisuke a look.

Should we take them out?

He shook his head and pointed to the camera in the corner. We were hiding behind a shelf, so I don't think it would notice us. Shit, this is going to be hard. The camera was the moving type, where it would move left to right. The camera was turning to our direction and we quickly hid our heads.

"Alright, we'll do it this way; I'll go first, followed by Hatsumi, Ken and Tsuki. Got it?" Eisuke whispered. We all nodded. We waited for the camera to turn away. The moment it did, Eisuke dashed to the other side quietly. To a human, they don't see anything, since our movements is too fast for their weak eyes. Ken and Hatsumi just stared in awe.

When the camera turned away, Hatsumi went, followed by Ken. Thankfully they were quiet enough to not attract the chef's attention. Finally, it was my turn. The moment the camera looked away, I dashed to their side in an instant. Eisuke breathed out a sigh of relief. We walked quietly, until we stood in front of a door which was labeled 'Emergency Exit. Staffs Only'. Me and Eisuke just rolled our eyes. We checked for any security cameras, traps or anything that can set off the alarm. There wasn't any, but we still opened the door carefully.

There was a corridor that leads up to a ladder. Eisuke went in first, just to check. He signaled that it was all clear and I motioned for Hatsumi and Ken to go in. I silently closed the door behind me and walked to them.

"It seems that the ladder only leads down. But I'm pretty sure it leads to some emergency room" Eisuke said with a frown. Hatsumi shook her head.

"No. There's a tunnel above the emergency room. The door can't be opened with all the rust and everything. But I'm pretty sure you both can". Eisuke nodded and opened the trap door below us. He peered down.

"It's pretty deep, so make sure you watch your step" he said. We all nodded.

One by one went down and I went in last, climbing down. I shut the trap door above and continued descending.

"I see a platform below us" Eisuke announced.I heard him land. Since both Hatsumi and Ken are humans, they can't see well in the darkness. But since Eisuke's down there, I'm pretty sure they will be fine.

I landed with the rest of them and looked around. I saw a huge door in front of me. I walked towards it and inspected it.

"Is this the door you were talking about?" I asked Hatsumi. She peered at the door. I just rolled my eyes as Ken brought out a torchlight from his back pocket in his back pocket, and handed it to Hatsumi. She turned it on and shined it towards the door so that she could get a better look.

"Yeah, this is the one. Be careful not to make too much noise" she said, biting her lower lip. Strapping my bag and my sack securely on my shoulders, I forced the door open, slowly. It made some noise, but not enough to attract attention. I opened it big enough so that we can all fit through it. It was another tunnel, going up ahead. And though it was pitch back (to normal human eyes) I could see just fine. I saw another ladder up ahead. I walked in first, making sure there was no trap or anything. When it was clear, I gave them the signal to follow. I noticed that there were ladders on the sides as well. Must be leading to different parts of this place.

"Better be careful. Try not to trip on anything" Eisuke muttered.

We were halfway through the tunnel when I suddenly heard a voice.

_Release me…_

I stopped dead in my tracks. I felt Hatsumi collided in me but I stood perfectly still.

"Ow. What gives?" she muttered.

"Shh" I told her, holding my hand up.

"What's up Tsuki?" Eisuke asked, taking up a combat stance.

"Eisuke, did you hear that?" I asked him.

"Hear what?" he asked with a frown. Maybe it was my imagination.

_Free me…from this prison…_

_Please…_

No I wasn't imagining it. I didn't move. I think I know that voice, even though I've never heard it before in my life.

It was the dragon's voice.

"Tsuki? Are you alright?" Eisuke asked, worried.

"Yeah. I need Ken to follow me. You and Hatsumi stay here until we get back" I said softly. Eisuke was startled.

"What? Why?" he asked.

"Just trust me. Ken?" I asked. He nodded. He strapped his bag tighter and motioned me to lead the way.

"Where do you need to go?" he asked.

"Do you know where the dragon is kept?" I asked. Ken was surprised, but he merely nodded.

"Bring me there" I said. I climbed on one of the ladders at the side with Ken following me. I didn't know where was this place, but my instincts were guiding me now. The climb was a bit far up than I thought but it didn't really matter. I carefully opened the trapdoor above me and peered through it.

It turns out we ended up directly at where the dragon is kept. Making sure that no one is there, I pushed the trapdoor open completely and hopped out. Ken followed later, his face covering in sweat. I decided to not say anything.

"Do you have access to this place?" I asked. He nodded. I walked over to this huge cage, where there was this _massive_ red dragon lying down.

"Open the door for me" I told him. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Are you crazy? That thing could eat you!" he hissed. Right, so it called me here so that I could be its meal. Nice.

"Just open it" I said annoyed. We don't have much time. He muttered something unintelligible and typed out the password in the computer. At the same time, he hacked into the security system and turned off the cameras.

"You have exactly 8 minutes. Hurry it up" I nodded and opened the door.

I stepped inside and walked slowly to the dragon. It's eyes opened and stared into me. They were golden, and I could see rage in it.

"You, um, called me?" I said in a small voice. This thing is _huge_.

"Are you one of the two that has my blood?" it asked in its deep voice. I nodded, not daring to say anything.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to harm you. It's just, I need you to release me from here" he said, getting up and shaking its wings.

"The door's right open" I said, motioning towards the door. But with his size…

"I know. But the thing is, I don't have enough energy to shift back to my human form. And since you have my blood, could you give me some of your energy?" it asked, its golden eyes piercing straight into my silver ones. I searched in its eyes, to see if its lying. But there was something about it that makes me trust him.

_Yeah right. The last time you did, it turned out pretty bad_, a voice in my head chided. I pushed out the bad memory from my head.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"Just put your hand on my forehead, and I'll do the rest" he said, lowering his head. I took a couple of hesitant steps forward and place my hand slowly, right between his eyes. He closed his eyes and the next thing I knew, I could feel almost all my energy drained right out of me. I almost fell onto to my knees by the time he was done.

"Thank you, now if you would please step back" he said. I nodded, and stumbled back carefully, trying not to fall on my butt. Suddenly, there was a golden aura emitting from him and he began to shrink. He shifted into a human form. Luckily, he had his pants and a shirt on. He was about Eisuke's height, with slightly long flame red hair and piercing golden eyes. He was quite well built as well. He looked about twentyish but I couldn't be sure.

"Do you mind if I accompany you in your escape? I really do not want to stay here" I nodded. He was a dragon, and from the looks of it, a flame dragon.

"Tsukune, better hurry it up. We have one minute left" Ken called out I nodded and looked at him.

"You do realize that its plain obvious for a massive dragon to _not_ be in his cage" I pointed out.

"Point conceded. Give me one moment" he said. I nodded. He mumbled something and suddenly, there was a dragon, which looked exactly like him, appeared behind him.

"This is an illusion of me in my dragon form. I don't think they'll mind" he said. I nodded and stepped out of the cage, with him following behind me. Ken quickly locked the cage and we scrambled down the trapdoor. I shut it and climbed down the ladder, and made my way to an anxious looking Eisuke and a panic looking Hatsumi.

"Tsuki! Ken! We were worried sick about you guys! And who's this?" he asked, eyeing the dragon critically.

"My name is Takahiro Akira. I'm a dragon. I believe you're the other one who has my blood" he said, looking at Eisuke. Eisuke just stared back at him with his mouth wide open. Yeap, that confirms it, he's a flame dragon.

"My name is Aono Tsukune. This fool who has his mouth hanging open here is Gengo Eisuke. The girl is Chuugo Hatsumi and this guy here is Togohara Ken. Now that we're done with the introduction, can we _go_?" I asked in a desperate tone. They all nodded and we continued walking through the tunnel until we reached the end of it.

"Well here's the ladder. Now, all we have to do is to climb _all_ the way up, and we'll be exposed to the _real_ world" Ken said, strapping his bag tighter. We all did the same, except Akira who doesn't have a luggage, and began climbing the ladder. I was the last one to go, making sure that no one sees us the whole time.

The climb up was slower than I expected, but I can't say anything since we have 2 humans with is, a very tired dragon and me, who feels like passing out any second now. But we never gave up. When we reached the top, all of us were excited, but we didn't show it. We held our breath as Eisuke opened the trap door above him, slowly opening it, making sure there's no one there. He climbed up, and helped the rest of us up. I closed the trap door and looked around. It was another bloody corridor. But I saw Ken smirking. I stopped dead. Did he betray us?

"Alright, now, I need Tsukune and Eisuke to open that door there, or rather, _break _it open. That door has been sealed off, making sure that no one can escape" Ken said, while pointing towards the door at the end. I looked at Eisuke, who was looking back uneasily. We slowly walked towards the door, our eyes on Ken the whole time, studying his body language.

We tried opening the door but it wouldn't budge. Ken was right, we had to break it open.

"Move, I'm gonna kick it open" Eisuke said. I took a step back, letting him do the honors. He kicked it with full force, and the next thing we knew, we felt wind. _Wind_. I peered out. The metal door fell _all_ the way down, into the deep abyss. Then I realized. We're in a _canyon. _Who would've thought. I scanned the area, looking for any possible landing to jump to, since both me and Eisuke have amazing jumping ability.

I looked across and saw a nice landing spot. I pointed it out to Eisuke and he nodded in agreement. We turned back to the three anxious figures behind us.

"Alright, Hatsumi, climb on Tsukune's back and Ken, you'll be climbing my back. We'll be jumping across that landing out there. Once we're done, I'll jump back here and carry Akira there" Eisuke said. Akira just snorted.

"You don't have to trouble yourself. I can jump over there easily. Don't underestimate a dragon's physical ability" Akira said, stretching. Eisuke just shrugged and motioned Ken to climb on. Ken, with a hesitant expression, climbed on.

"This is…awkward" he mumbled, tightening his grip on Eisuke's neck.

"You have _no _idea" Eisuke mumbled back. I snickered and got a glare in response. I just looked away innocently. I motioned Hatsumi to climb on my back and she did happily. I could feel her heart racing but I decided not to mention anything. Maybe its because we're jumping to the other side of the canyon.

"Alright, I'll go first. Followed by Akira and Eisuke" I said. They nodded. I took a few steps back, and ran forward, full speed, and jumped. I pushed myself out. To my satisfaction, I landed right in the middle of the landing. I heard Akira and Eisuke landing beside me.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to _freedom_"Ken said happily, as he climbed down. We stared at each other, smiling like fools. After so long, I could finally feel the breeze on my skin, feel the heat of the sun, smell the earth.

I could enjoy my freedom.

"At this point, we should start running, just in case" Eisuke said.

"And that means, Ken have to climb on Eisuke again" Hatsumi smirked. I still hadn't put her down. Ken blushed slightly, and with a grumble, climbed on to Eisuke again. Me, Hatsumi and Akira just laughed at that them.

"Awww. Eisuke and Ken make such a cute couple" Hatsumi teased. Eisuke growled and Ken showed her his middle finger. We laughed, and took off, not looking back at all. Suprisingly, Akira could keep up easily, without much effort. He was right, don't underestimate a dragon's physical ability.

"Where should we head too?" I yelled as we ran.

"Until we reach a road" Eisuke yelled back. I nodded and we ran faster.

This is going to be fun.


	8. Freedom

**[A/N] **Eighth chapter! Yeah! Thank you **Sefirot **for the support! And **Dark boy of wonders** so sorry that I didn't re-read it for errors. My bad. It was past 3 in the morning when I post it, so yeah. But I'll try to make sure there will be no errors in this one. Enjoy! :D

* * *

We kept on running like there was no tomorrow. I didn't know for how long we were running, but we didn't stop. I kept an eye on Akira the whole time, making sure he doesn't pass out. I know that he doesn't have much strength and hope that he doesn't pass out. We ran until we could see a road ahead of us.

"Eisuke! Road!" I yelled. We had to yell at each other since we were running at such velocity. I saw Ken tucked his head in his arm. I hope that Hatsumi would do the same. We stopped once we reached the edge of the road.

"What now?" I asked, a little breathless.

"We wait for a vehicle to pass by. Maybe we can hitchhike from them" Eisuke said, looking left and right, hoping to see a car. I frowned. That's not a good idea.

"Not a good idea Eisuke. I think its better if we continue our course, into the mountains" I said motioning up ahed.

"Why?" Ken asked. I rolled my eyes. How can they be _so _clueless?

"Think about it. We're in the middle of the freaking dessert, with a road. What are the chances of a transport to pass by us before the alarm goes off there? Not to mention the first place they'd go is the road. With their technology and influence, they will check every inch of the road, having roadblocks everywhere. So we go through the mountains" I explained.

"He's right. They'll think we'd do the plain obvious; hitchhiking. I'm not surprised if we get caught halfway down the road" Akira said.

"Fine. We'll just continue north then. Hey Ken, do you have a map or anything?" Eisuke asked.

"Yeah. Put me down for a sec" Ken said. He climbed down and reached for his bag pack. He pulled out a large map and spread it open so all of us could see.

"Alright, now, here's the first question. _Where the hell are we_?" Eisuke muttered scanning the map. I looked around, hoping to see a land mark or something. I spotted a sign board, about couple of hundred meters away. But with my eye sight, it's no problem for me.

"Look for exit 39" I told Ken. He nodded and began searching.

"Alright, found it" Ken said smiling. But his expression immediately turned to shock. He had the what-the-fuck look on him. I raised my eyebrow?

"Ken? Where are we exactly?" I asked again. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Uh, we're on the…wrong continent" Ken said. He looks paler now.

"Huh? Wrong continent?" Hatsumi asked, peering around my neck.

"We're in Wisconsin, America" he said, looking at me. We just stared back at him, with our mouths wide open. That was when Ken started laughing.

"Oh my god! You guys actually fell for it!" Ken said, laughing out loud. Me and Eisuke growled and Akira just narrowed his eyes at him.

"This is _not _funny you douche bag" Eisuke said, cracking his knuckles dangerously.

"Sorry, sorry. I just wanted to lighten the mood a little" he said, wiping some tears off.

"So where the hell are we?" I said in a dark tone. We seriously have to time for this.

"Alright, alright. Hey Tsukune, where did you see the sign that says exit 39?" Ken asked.

"There, towards the east. But I don't think you can see it though" I said. He nodded.

"Alright, look at it and see if you can see any other language on it". I looked again and noticed some weird language on it.

"I don't know. It's got awfully lots of circles on it. That's all I can say". Ken nodded and took a pen out. He wrote something on his palm and showed it to me.

"Is it something like this?" he asked. I nodded.

"Ah, I see. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Korea" he said, putting the pen back into his pocket.

"This better not be joke Ken" Eisuke said dangerously. Ken backed up and held his hand up defensively.

"I'm serious. We're in Korea. By the looks of it, we're in South Korea. Lucky for us" Ken mused.

"Which part?" Akira asked.

"Lemme see….we're currently in Geochang. And we're surrounded by mountains. Oh, but there's a town up north, not too far up" he said, looking at us. We nodded.

"Ken, keep that map in your front pocket. It'll be easier for us later on" Eisuke said. He nodded. He folded the map and put it in his front pocket of his shirt. He tightened his bag pack strap and climbed on to Eisuke's back, much to his displeasure.

"Alright. We're good to go" Eisuke said. I nodded. I turned to Akira who was waiting patiently the whole time.

"Akira, you sure you'll be alright? It's gonna be quite a journey" I said worriedly.

"I'll be fine. My physical abilities match a vampire. I just need some energy for magic. That's all. I can't be much of help in a combat, since they siphoned out almost all of my magic. I need time to recover" he said. I nodded.

"Alright, here we go. Remember, don't stop no matter what" Eisuke said. We all nodded and took off into the mountains. We were reaching the mountains when we heard the alarms going off at the base. We didn't say anything, but just continued running faster. Like there's not tomorrow.

Maybe there isn't.

* * *

We were already deep into the mountains, pretty sure that they would loose their tracks on us, since it's really windy.

"How far is the town Ken?" Eisuke asked. Ken pulled out the map and checked.

"About a mile. From this point on, start running towards your north-east" Eisuke nodded and ran towards the direction the Ken pointed out. We followed closely.

We spotted buildings and smelled carbon monoxide about 10 kilometers away. We're almost there.

"Ken, how much money do you have on you?" Eisuke asked. As he slowed to a stop.

"About a thousand. Why?"

"Good. When we go there, we're going to have to change our appearance and get some contacts. All of us except Akira"

"I don't mind that. But what are we going to do about my face?" I asked, turning to the left so that they could see my tattoo.

"Leave it be. Besides, there are people with face tattoo right?" Eisuke asked playfully. I snorted.

"Alright, lets go. Oh and Ken, Hatsumi, we'll be going to the bank. Take out as much cash as you can" Eisuke said. Both of them nodded and we took off.

Once we reached near the town, Hatsumi and Ken climbed down and walked by our sides, appearing normal. The town was quite big, and quite crowded. I wonder when was the last time I interacted with a normal human? That thought made me nervous suddenly. Hatsumi must've noticed me becoming tense.

"What's wrong?" she asked quietly.

"Nothing…it's just, I forgot how it's like to _talk _to a person normally. Plus with my appearance, I think I'll scare them off. I seriously don't know how to react to that" I answered back quietly. Hatsumi laughed at this.

"Well I'm human, and you're conversing with me just fine" she chuckled.

"That's because you're different. You _know_ what I am. They don't. And you're used to seeing me like this. I think I just lost my ability to socialize" I muttered. She didn't say anything.

"Hey guys, I have a question. We're in Korea, and we're Japanese. How are we gonna communicate with them?" Ken asked suddenly. That's a million dollar question.

"Don't worry about that part. I know 36 languages, thus making it easy for me to communicate with people around the world. I can also speak Korean. So don't worry about it. I'll be your interpreter" Akira said. Ken stared at him like he's just seen God.

"Seriously? What other languages can you speak?" Ken asked excitedly. Geez, he looks like an school kid. Akira began answering his questions and taught him some words to speak. Despite that, I smiled at them. I've never seen Ken this happy, except whenever he can get his hands on some porno magazines, like Eisuke.

"Alright, first stop, the bank" Eisuke said gleefully.

"You look like you're gonna rob a bank" Hatsumi muttered. I chuckled as Eisuke pouted. We walked around town, looking for the bank. We spotted one. Ken, Akira and Hatsumi went in while me and Eisuke stood outside, waiting for them.

"Finally, eh Tsuki?" Eisuke asked. I smiled and nodded.

"What's our plan after this?" I asked. Eisuke thought about it.

"Well first, we gotta change our appearance, so that we can keep a low profile. Then, we gotta find a way to get back to Japan" Eisuke said. I nodded. Just then, the 3 of them came out. Eisuke grinned.

"How much?" he asked, rubbing his hands together.

"We managed to get 80,000 out. 40,000 in Korean currency and 40,000 in Yen" Hatsumi said as she held up a briefcase and Ken held up one. We nodded. It was more than enough.

"Alright, now, let's go get a makeover" Eisuke said. I groaned. This is going to be…torturous. We walked around town again, looking for a saloon and Akira pointed out one. We entered and it was all pink. _PINK._ I thought I was going to go blind then.

Just then, a couple of females walked over to us and asked us something in a _very_ seductive tone in Korean. I don't know whether to be thankful or not for the fact that I don't understand Korean. Akira answered in a monotone and the girls pouted.

"What did they say?" Eisuke asked, while staring intently at one of the girl's ass. I rolled my eyes.

"They asked how can they be off service. They offer _all_ kinds of service, except for Hatsumi. I told them we needed to get a haircut and that's it." Akumi muttered in disgust. Eisuke looked disappointed.

"How could you say _no_?" Eisuke said in horror. I glared at him.

"I wonder what _Yuko_ thinks about this" I said quietly. Eisuke instantly paled at that and Hatsumi snickered.

We waited for our turn at the waiting area, browsing through magazines to check up on the latest hairstyles. I found a couple of interesting ones. I noticed that they were selling a couple of hair products at the corner of the saloon. I walked towards it and checked it out.

"Anything interesting?" Eisuke asked as he came beside me.

"Yeah. I think we should get this" I said holding a can of temporary black hair dye spray. I read the instructions. It was pretty simple, you just spray it on your hair, and it'll look naturally black. But you can wash it off easily. I passed the bottle to Eisuke and he read the label.

"Alright. Get 5 of these, some soap, and shampoo with conditioner. Don't get the bar soap. Get the gel type" I nodded and called for Akira and told him what I wanted. I left him to get the money from Ken, who was busily reading a magazine about hairstyles.

"I need cash" I said.

"Sure" he said. He dug out some money. He handed it to me and I went to the counter and paid for the items.

"I need to get a bag pack" Akira muttered as I stuffed the things into mine.

"Sure. After we get our 'make-over'" I told him in dismay. I looked at my reflection at a mirror. I wonder how I should cut my hair.

"Oh, it's your turn Tsukune" Akira said. I nodded and followed a Korean girl who motioned me to sit at a chair.

"How do you want to cut your hair?" Akira asked.

"Not sure. I don't mind anything, but I want to keep my bangs" I said. He nodded and started giving out instruction to the stylist. I closed my eyes and let the transformation take place. I didn't know how long it took, but it felt _freaking _long.

"Alright Tsukune, it's all done" Akira said. I could hear a tone of satisfaction in his voice. I opened my eyes and stared at my hair. It was cut neatly and my bangs fell quite well in front my eyes, veiling my eyes the way I wanted. They pulled some hair from the side so that it can frame my face. The stylist took a mirror and reflect the back of my head, so I could see it. It was shorter, and it was in spiky do. I smiled and nodded.

"It's good" I told Akira. He smiled. I got up and saw that Eisuke, Ken and Hatsumi had gotten their hair cut as well. Hatsumi's usual long hair was cut to shoulder length. Her bangs were cut shorter and it fell in front in a cute way. She dyed her hair brown. Eisuke's hair was shorter and was made into his usual spiky do, and so was Ken. But Ken decided to change his hair color from orange to black. He looked so mature.

"You know, the girls like your eye color. They said the silver in your eyes reminded them of the stars" Akira said as we paid and left the saloon. I didn't say anything.

"And they liked your silver highlights and Eisuke's red highlights. They said it was a turn on" Akira joked. Eisuke perked up when he heard that. I just shook my head.

"Where to now?" Hatsumi asked.

"We get some food. Oh and before that" I said stopping and pulling out the temporary black hair dye I bought just now.

"Here" I said, throwing a can to Eisuke. He caught and opened the cover. The 3 of them watched as we sprayed our hair with it. It was hard, since I don't have a reflection to check.

"How is it?" I asked once I was done.

"You missed a few spots. Here, let me help you" Hatsumi said, taking the can from my hand and started spraying the spots that I missed. I noticed that Akira was doing the same to Eisuke.

"There. All done" Hatsumi said, handing the can back to me with a nod of approval. We were about to start walking when I noticed that there was a shop with a huge pair of glasses hanging over its signboard.

"Hey Akira, what's that shop for?" I asked pointing out. He read the words on the signboard.

"It's a shop that sells glasses. Why?" he asked. A thought occurred to me.

"Hey Eisuke, I think we better get contacts. It's no point that we change our hair color" I said turning to Eisuke. He thought about it and nodded.

"Alright, I'll be waiting here with these 2. You and Akira go get the contacts. Get me green" Eisuke said. I was about to ask Ken for money but he handed it to me without being asked. I gave a nod of thanks and followed Akira.

I choose brown since they were my color of my eyes before it turned silver. I bought quite a lot of brown and green contacts and gave the money to Akira to pay. After paying we quickly got out of the store, not wanting to attract any attention. Akira pulled me to another direction, to my surprise.

"What the hell?" I asked.

"Look, clothes shop" he said pointing towards a store full of clothes. I nodded and gave the 3 the signal to come over.

"What's up?" Eisuke asked.

"We're going shopping" I mumbled as I dragged him into the store. Eisuke just groaned.

"Alright. 10 minutes. Pick out what you want, pay for it, and we're out" Ken said, handing us some money. Akira went to the back of the store and got a bag pack for himself. Eisuke and I went to the shirt section, and picked out a some hooded shirts and caps.

Our time was up and we went to the counter to pay. Akira was carrying a bundle of clothes, though I can't blame him. I noticed that there were some boxes on top of the stack.

"What's that?" I asked, passing Ken my stack so he could pay for it one shot.

"Some toothpaste, and foldable toothbrush" he said as he paid for his. Ah crap. I forgot to bring mine.

"Don't worry, I got one for each of us" Akira assured. I nodded. Once we were done, we walked out of the store and sat at a bus stop.

"How long have we been here?" I asked. Hatsumi checked her watch.

"About an hour and a half" she said, biting her lower lip. Shit, we're here too long.

"Don't worry about food. I got some in my bag" Ken said, reading my expression. I nodded and stood up. Akira was done stuffing his things into his bag and he passed us our toothbrush and toothpaste. I stuffed them in my pocket.

"Alright lets go. Ken, where should we head out to?" I asked. He pulled out the map and began searching. Akira just stepped forward and held his hand out. Ken passed the map to him without a word. Akira searched the map, looking for the best possible route to take.

"As you all know, we're currently in Geochang. The best route to take is through Sacheon. After Sacheon, we'll be heading to Tongyeong. From there, we can take a boat or ship to Japan. But we'll probably stop at Tsushima island and Iki island" he said as he trailed the route with his finger.

"Which part of Japan will we arrive?" Hatsumi asked. Strapping on her bag pack on. The rest of us did the same.

"From Iki island, the safest place to go is Sakaiminato. From there we can travel to Kyoto" Akira answered. He folded the map and handed it back to Ken.

"Roughly how long will it take to reach Tongyeong?" Eisuke asked.

"About 2 days, if we travel like the way we did" Akira said. We all nodded and walked to the edge of town, where there were a lot of trees. We walked into the forest quickly before anyone sees us. I took out my contacts and passed Eisuke his.

"This is uncomfortable" he muttered putting them on. He blinked a couple of times.

"We've got no choice" I said. I blinked a couple of time, making sure its in place. Satisfied, I stuffed the empty box into my pocket and motioned Hatsumi to climb on. Ken climbed on to Eisuke, grumbling. I tried not to laugh.

"Okay, now follow me. Keep close" Akira said. We nodded and followed Akira as he took off. The sun was setting in the west, so it was easier to tell where is where. None of us spoke while we ran. We were all enjoying our new found freedom.


	9. Confession

**[A/N] **Ninth chapter! And again, thank you for the support! Well **linksword01 **this is kind of a POV story, but not all the way. I won't be focusing on that too much. But if you still don't find it to your liking, I can't do anything much now can I? But thank you for your support so far! And thank you **Haymitch Abernathy**! Yeah, even I can't wait writing that chapter. I've been getting some pm's asking me how I knew the places in Korea and Japan. No, I did not ace my Geography and no, I've never visited those places I mentioned. I referred to Google map :D And as for the OC's names, I don't name them simply. Their names have meaning and are connected to their abilities. Google it if you don't believe me (: And as always, ENJOY! :D

* * *

Akashiya Moka woke up in a good mood. A first, in many years. She hummed along her favorite song as she went about in her morning routine. After her meeting with her good friend Sendo Yukari last night, she couldn't wait to get off from work. After she was done, she began making breakfast. She was gathering her ingredients up when she heard a knock on the door. She glanced at the clock. 9.30 a.m. _Ryuu's not due for another half an hour…who could it be? _She wondered as she set down the knife and get the door.

To her surprise, it was Ryuu. But he was in a really bad shape. He looked like he hadn't had any sleep and he looks really worried and depressed. His blue eyes were blood shot red.

"Ryuu. You're early. I didn't think you'd come so early…what happened?" she asked as she ushered him in. He plopped himself on the couch and leaned his head back.

"Nothing much. Rough night. You on the other hand, look like Santa's coming to town. What's up?" he asked looking at her. She smiled. She went back to making breakfast.

"Well, I last night I met up with my friend that I was talking about. And she had some good news" Moka said happily as she cracked the eggs and started frying them.

"Oh? Enlighten me" Ryuu mumbled half asleep. Moka took a deep breath before she started talking. She knew that every time she talked about Tsukune, he feels…uncomfortable.

"Remember that I used to tell you that I have dreams about….Tsukune?" she said slowly. Ryuu's eyes snapped open and focused on her.

"Well, the night before…I had this dream about him again. But this time was different. Very different" she said as she finished making her breakfast and set them on a plate. She made some for Ryuu and passed the plate to him as she sat beside him on the couch.

"Different how?" Ryuu asked as he took a bite. Ryuu hated this feeling that was building up in his chest. _Jealousy_, is the best word to describe it. Even though Aono Tsukune is dead, she still kept talking about him. But Ryuu felt stupid. _Getting jealous over a dead guy…You've fallen really low Ryuu_ he thought to himself. He pushed the feeling aside and continued to listen, like the good friend he was.

"Well, in my previous dreams, I always dreamt that he was the 17 year old boy with brown eyes and black hair. But in this one, he had silver eyes and his hair was highlighted with silver. He had a tattoo on his right side of his face. And he looked a lot older. Like twentyish." she, swallowing her food. She didn't want to go into the details of the dream like how she touched him…and kissed him. She blushed at that.

"Hmm..so what did this friend of yours said?" Ryuu asked, not liking where this is going.

"Well she and her boyfriend said that, it could be possible that he's alive. See, I gave him my blood when he was human, and in the process, he almost transformed into a ghoul. You know the story right?" Moka asked. She told Ryuu about it before. He nodded.

"Well they said that since I gave him my blood, there's sort of this _link_ between us. A bond or something" Moka said, more eagerly now.

"So that means he's been trying to communicate with you in your dreams?" Ryuu asked.

"It could be" she agreed. Ryuu's heart fell like a lead bar then. If he's really alive…

_Then I have to watch Moka in another man's arms, _he thought.

It took him a lot of effort for the tears not to flow. He forced the food down his throat and set the plate on the table. He smiled at her. He was happy for her, really. But he never knew that he would have to suffer this much. _I guess I'll have to settle in for the 'best-friend' spot _he thought sadly. But hey, its better than nothing right?

Moka finished up her breakfast and cleaned up before leaving for work. They talked in the car, but never touching the conversation they had this morning. Traffic this morning was horrible, and they called in the office saying that they would be late.

"You look tired Ryuu. Are you sure you're okay?" Moka asked worriedly when she noticed Ryuu was almost asleep.

"Yeah. Just some news in the family" he said, yawning. He really didn't want to spoil her mood.

"Come on, you can tell me. Please?" she said giving him the puppy eyes look which she knew he can't resist. He sighed.

"I got a call yesterday from the Takahiro mansion. My older brother Akira is missing. They haven't seen him for days" he said sadly. Moka's eyes went wide with shock.

"What? Did they try finding him?" she asked worriedly. Takahiro Akira was the oldest among Ryuu's siblings. Ryuu was the second oldest. He two younger sisters. One 2 years younger and the youngest is 18.

"They did. He was at the Hakusan mountain, for a meeting with the rest of the dragon clan. Since father was busy in Kyoto, and Onee-sama being the next heir to the throne, had to go. He was supposed to be back 2 days ago. They tried finding him but it was like he was never there." Ryuu said sadly. He was worried sick about his brother. His brother was his mentor. Though Akira was a fire dragon, and Ryuu was a water dragon, he still trained him and spent time with him. Ryuu's mother left him when he was young, so he only spent time with his brother. Later on, Yuko Takahiro, who was 2 years younger than him and Mei Takahiro, 6 years younger than him, came to live with them, along with their mother Shizuka Takahiro. He then understood that those 2 girls were his half sister, and Shizuka was his step mother. At first, he refused to acknowledge them as his sisters and mother, but as time went by, he warmed up to them. Shizuka treated Akira and him as her own sons. Mei and Yuko treated them like they were their own brother. Things were good. Yuko is a wind dragon, and Mei is an earth dragon. In the Takahiro clan, only his family had all four elemental dragons.

"So what are you going to do now?" Moka asked, as Ryuu snapped out of his thoughts.

"Keep finding. And when I do, I'll kill those bastards" Ryuu growled as he put the car into gear roughly. Moka knew better and decided not to say anything. _Maybe dinner would help? _ Moka thought.

"Hey Ryuu, are you free after work?" Moka asked as he pulled into the parking lot.

"Yeah. Why?" Ryuu asked.

"Let's go have dinner. My treat" she said in a tone that leaves no room for arguments. Ryuu just let out a grunt of agreement and walked into the office.

* * *

The work load was light today, so they finished faster than they expected. Moka suggested that they head to dinner early. They head to their favorite restaurant, which was down the block. Since they were, early they managed to find seats in a good spot and ordered their food.

Ryuu couldn't keep his eyes off of her the whole time. She looked so beautiful. But then again, she always does. He managed to avert his gaze in time before she noticed. He looked around the restaurant, and saw that most of the females there were staring at him hungrily.

"Er.. Moka, why are they staring at me?" Ryuu whispered. Moka looked around and snickered.

"It seems that they're undressing you with their eyes" Moka snickered. It was true. With Ryuu's good looks, which female _wouldn't _want to see him topless? Moka blushed lightly at that thought and pushed it out of her mind. Thankfully, their food arrived. They ate, and talked about work, thinking about their presentation which was due in about 3 days time. After awhile, they fell into silence.

Ryuu gathered up all the courage he could muster and decided to ask her. It's been on his mind since this morning.

"There's something that I've been meaning to talk to you for quite some time now" Ryuu said. He was feeling so nervous, he could feel his dinner coming right back up. Moka tilted her head in curiosity.

"Go ahead" she said. She noticed that he was nervous.

"Well…I understand that you have feelings for Tsukune. And now that you've found some clue about him being alive, I know you want to search for him" Ryuu started, stirring his drink with his straw.

"Yes..and?" Moka asked. She was getting nervous for some reason and she didn't know why.

"What if…what if he's really dead?" he asked, blue eyes meeting red ones. Moka seemed taken aback by this.

"And what if he's not?" Moka snapped, hurt that he could ask her this.

"If he's not…then I'm happy for you" Ryuu said with a casual shrug.

"And what are you trying to imply here Ryuu?" Moka asked, narrowing her eyes at him. Ryuu took a deep breath before answering.

"Look, we've been friends since we were 19. For 5 years, I've watched you mourn over your friend Aono Tsukune. I understand that you loved him very much. But lets say that he's really dead. Then what?" he said in an angry whisper. Moka just looked away. Ryuu calmed down before speaking again.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to blow up at you like that…It's just…My feelings is obvious Moka. I love you. I can't offer you what Tsukune can but I'll try my best. I would do anything for you" Ryuu said in a pleading voice. He needed her to understand him for once.

Moka on the other hand didn't know how to respond to Ryuu's sudden confession. Yes, she knew how Ryuu felt for her. But confessing to her suddenly…well it doesn't help with the current situation.

"And what if he's really alive Ryuu? I'm only going to end up hurting you" she said quietly.

"If he is then…forget what I said. I'll be your best friend and I won't interfere in your relationship" Ryuu replied.

"But even if he is…dead, which I don't think so, you do realize that I will still hurt you right?" Moka said sadly. Ryuu just smiled at her.

"Moka, you and I have an eternity ahead of us. I don't care how long it takes for me to make you fall in love with me, but I will try my best. I don't care if you still have feelings for him then. I will make you fall in love with me for who I am" Ryuu said simply. Moka just shook his head. Maybe its because of lack of sleep that he's spouting nonsense.

"Now, lets get out of here. I feel really violated now" Ryuu muttered as he got up. Moka just giggled and motioned to waiter for the bill. She paid him and left him an hefty amount of tip and left.

Their walk to the car was a quiet one. It was awkward after Ryuu's confession. Even the drive was uncomfortable. Once they were at her apartment Ryuu stopped the car and looked at her.

"What I said at dinner…I was being serious Moka. Please think about it" he said quietly. Moka didn't say anything. She thanked him for fetching her back and watch him drive away.

She got into her apartment and locked the door. She ran a bath and put some herbs in it before getting into the tub.

"Damn it Ryuu..why do you have make things so complicated now?" Moka growled. Truth to be told is that she didn't want to fall in love with anyone else. She only wanted Tsukune…dead or alive. But with Ryuu there and him being similar to Tsukune…it just gets harder.

Finishing her bath, she put her clothes on and turned her computer on. To her delight, she found Yukari online, and engaged with her in an instant chat.

_XxVampiressxX : Yukari! (: how was your day?_

_~AwesomeWitch~ : Oh Moka-san! It was good (: how bout you?_

Moka didn't know how to reply. To tell or to not tell? In the end, she decided to tell her. She typed out what happened today, including Ryuu's confession.

_~AwesomeWitch~ : OMG! I bet things are awkward now :S_

_XxVampiressxX : You have no idea Yukari…But what if he's right? What if Tsukune's really dead?_

_~AwesomeWitch~ : Well then Moka-san, I suggest that you accept him. If it was Tsukune, I'm sure that he'd be angry that you're still sad about his passing, and definitely want you to be happy. Besides, Ryuu is a good guy. Why spend eternity alone?_

At this, Moka bit her lower lip. Her friend has a good point. A _very _good point.

_XxVampiressxX : True. But putting that aside, I think I'm going to visit our _dear _headmaster after the death anniversary. Do you want to come along? We can visit Ruby too_

_~AwesomeWitch~ : YESSSS! I'll COME! :3 Thank you Moka-san! You're the best _

Moka chuckled. She knew that Yukari is fond of the older witch. Besides, it would be a good chance to catch up on things.

_XxVampiressxX : :D haha alright. Since his anniversary is next Friday, would you like to come and stay over at my place until then? We can go together. It'll be easier that way._

_~AwesomeWitch~ : Yeah! That'll be a GREAT idea. Hold on, I'll tell Hayate-kun about it. When would you like me to come over?_

_XxVampiressxX : Whenever you're free (:_

_~AwesomeWitch~ : Oh Hayate-kun said it's alright :D Erm..Okay since today is Friday, I'll be at your place on Sunday. Is that okay?_

_XxVampiressxX : Yeap :) I'll come and pick you up then. And no, you can't argue on this one. I don't want you take the trouble to come here._

_~AwesomeWitch~ : Awww :( fine. Oh, I have to go. I'm brewing some antidotes and I think it's ready. I'll send you an e-mail to tell you what time you can come and pick me up. Good night Moka-san :)_

_XxVampiressxX : Okay :) Good night Yukari._

With that, Moka logged out and turned her computer off. She can't wait for Sunday. Although Yukari is the youngest in her group, she's her favorite. Maybe it's the way she man handles Kurumu? She chuckled at the memory. She slid into bed and closed her eyes.

_I love you…Tsukune _were her last thoughts before sleep claimed her.


	10. Unveiling The Truth

**[A/N****] **Okay I reallyyy couldn't resist the temptation so I just _have _to start writing the tenth chapter. And again, thank you **Sefirot **for your support ! ENJOY! :D

We reached Sacheon sooner than we thought. We thought it'll take 2 days but we reached here in about a day and a half. We reached a town where its quite isolated. We booked two rooms in a cheap motel. One for Ken and Hatsumi (Since Ken's interest towards Hatsumi is freaking obvious to us males) and another one for me, Akira and Eisuke. Ken was happy that he got to share a room with Hatsumi, but he was smart enough not to show it. We all showered and put on some fresh clothes. Eisuke and I sprayed our hair with the black dye we bought and put on our contacts.

"I still don't see _how _people can wear these things. Its so uncomfortable. And I can't _see_ properly. I can see the scratches on this thing" Eisuke gumbled blinking rapidly.

"Stop whining like a baby would you?" Akira said rolling his eyes. Eisuke just huffed and kept his mouth shut. Someone knocked on the door and I got up to open it. Ken and Hatsumi was standing there, smiling. I let them in and closed the door.

"So what's the plan? Now that we're in Sacheon, we need to find a way to get to Tongyeong" Ken said as he sat on the floor, beside Akira.

"Well, running there wouldn't be a bad idea…" Eisuke trailed off. Akira shook his head.

"It won't be a bad idea. But I can sense that there's a storm coming. You don't want to run in the middle of it now do you? Not to mention that you have 2 humans tagging along, they'll definitely get sick. We need to get a car" Akira said. I nodded in agreement.

"Then we better get moving now. We'll eat, stock up on some food and we'll see if we can get a truck or something" I said. They all nodded. Ken and Hatsumi went back to their room to pack their stuff. The 3 of us decided to do the same. When we were done packing, we checked out of the motel and headed out to a restaurant to eat. Akira ordered some food for him, Ken and Hatsumi. Me and Eisuke decided to pass since we don't really need it.

"Hey Akira, I know it's kind of…weird to ask you this all of a sudden..but you're a fire dragon right?" I asked. I was curious about him. I don't know anything about him and his in our group. Though he did prove to be quite useful…

Akira just swallowed his food and looked at me before answering me.

"Yes…how did you figure out?" he asked, slightly surprised.

"Your name. It means 'light', am I right?" I asked, leaning back onto the chair. He nodded.

"So, is there a reason why you would like to head to Sakaiminato?" I casually asked. He smiled.

"Since you figured out the meaning of my first name, how about you try figuring my last name out" he smirked. I frowned slightly. Takahiro means 'noble'. So he's a noble then?

"So you're a noble?" I asked. He nodded.

"Yes. I am the heir in my family. The Takahiro clan is basically the leader of all the other dragon clans. We control them, making sure that they abide by the rules" he said taking another bite of his food.

"So why Sakaiminato?" Ken asked, clearly interested in our conversation.

"Sakaiminato is where my uncle lives. He has an _army_ of dragons under him, so I doubt these people would be stupid enough to try and come and look for us there" he said casually.

"So how did you get yourself caught?" Eisuke asked.

"Well, I had to attend a meeting in the mountains of Hakusan. The ice dragons have been having some problems there lately and they needed the Takahiro clan's help. Since my father had some matters to take care of in Kyoto, he sent me there, in place of him. After meeting with the elders there, I head out to check things out some things in the mountain. I shifted to my dragon form and started flying overhead the mountains when I got hit my something. It knocked me out cold. When I got up, I found myself in that cage, locked up. They put a lot of adamite crystals in there, to make sure that I don't recover my strength. Adamites are our weakness, since they suck our energy out slowly. During that time, they drew quite a lot of blood from me. It was then I realized that they infused my blood with you both" Akira explained. He took a sip off his drink before continuing.

"When they infused my blood with you both, I could sense a link. So I paid attention to you both, since I could catch fragments of your thoughts about escaping. When you were really near to me, I decided to call one of you out. I picked Tsukune, since Eisuke had some pretty….perverted thoughts" Akira said narrowing his eyes at Eisuke, who feigned innocence. I slapped my palm to my forhead and Ken just laughed. Hatsumi decided not to say anything.

"And there's another thing that I would like to warn you two about. Since you have my blood, I believe that your physical abilities have been enhanced. But let me tell you this, just because you have my blood, that doesn't mean you have the ability to control fire" he said seriously.

"Then how would we know what are we capable of?" Eisuke asked.

"You'll dream about one of the four elemental spirits. Sometimes one, sometimes more than one. They will brand their mark on you, to show that you really had that dream, and that your ability as a dragon is mainly that element. As an example, I am a fire dragon. I dreamt about the fire spirit, and she left a mark on my body. The mark is to point out to the other elemental spirit that I am best at controlling the element of fire. I can learn the other elements of course, but I won't be able to control them as well as fire. So if you have a dream about one of the element, that's your main element" Akira said.

"What if we don't get chosen?" I asked.

"That means, you'll be a normal dragon. You can use magic, but your ability can never rival any elemental dragon" he said. I nodded.

"So how long does it take for them to have this dream?" Hatsumi asked.

"Usually about week. If they still don't dream about anything for a week, they'll just have the abilities of a normal dragon. But heck, with their current abilities, I think they can go head to head with my dad" Akira mused. We just smiled proudly. We fell into silence, waiting for the three to eat finish when a thought dawned to me.

"I just thought of something. Since we've been there for god knows how many years, I'm sure they've put some kind of tracking device on us right?" I asked slowly. I couldn't swallow the lump in my throat, and my chest got tighter with fear. Eisuke froze and Akira stopped eating. But Ken and Hatsumi were awfully calm.

"No worries. After your third attempt of escape last time, me and Hatsumi secretly got rid of it from you both" Ken said.

"How bout Akira?" Eisuke asked, still tense.

"He was supposed to have his implanted tomorrow" Hatsumi said with a shrug. We breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Alright , we're done. Lets go get some food from a nearby store and get a vehicle" Ken said. We all nodded and left some money on the table before we leave the place. Eisuke and Hatsumi went to get the food while me, Ken and Akira looked for a vehicle.

We found a truck, which was an old range rover truck. We chose that since it could drive through the mud and mountain really well. Another plus side is that is has open space in the back, meaning that we could put our bags and stuff there and still have room for people to sit. Ken managed to get a good price for it. The engine was a bit old, but I guess it would do for now. Eisuke and Hatsumi came a bit later and approved of the truck. We drove to a nearby gas station and filled the truck up. Eisuke and I managed to find some huge bottles where they store oil in it, and filled it up. Each one could hold about 3 liters of oil and we had 4 bottles. It's good for now. After filling the truck up, we loaded our baggage to the back of the truck. Ken will be driving and Hatsumi will be sitting in the passenger seat while me, Akira and Eisuke hopped to the back.

"Man, I forgot what it's like breathing in fresh air" Eisuke said as he took a deep breath of the mountain air. I grinned at him. The evening sun is starting to set in the west again, coloring the sky and the clouds gold. The breeze that's passing through us and playing with our hair sets our minds in peace, as we enjoy mother nature's gift to us.

"Since we have loads of time to kill, lets get to know Akira better" Eisuke said with an evil smile. Akira just chuckled and I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Alright, lets start. Where were you born?" Eisuke asked, as he turned his body to face him.

"I was born in Gifu, near the Ogawa Pass" he answered.

"How many siblings do you have?" Eisuke asked.

"I have a younger brother, who's a year younger than me and two younger sisters, or rather, half sisters. One is three years younger and the other is seven years younger than me" he replied. I could tell that Eisuke wanted to ask about the half sister thing but thought better of it.

"Are your siblings elemental like you as well?" Eisuke continued to ask. Akira nodded.

"Ryuu, who is my younger brother, can control water. Yuko, who's the second youngest, can control the wind. Mei, the youngest, controls the earth" Akira said. I noticed that Eisuke's eyes widened at the name 'Yuko' though I could understand why. His girlfriend's name is Yuko too.

"Wait, wait. Your sister, who can control wind. Her name is Yuko too?" Eisuke asked excitedly.

"Yes. Why?" Akira asked curiously.

"That's cause his girlfriend's name is Yuko too" I told him. Eisuke chuckled.

"And she's a vampire by the way. Not a dragon. Her name is Hideyoshi Yuko" Eisuke said proudly.

"Hideyoshi…that name rings a bell…Oh! Hideyoshi as in one of the noble family in the vampire realm?" Akira asked. Eisuke nodded.

"How'd you know about noble vampires?" I asked.

"Well dragons and vampires have a really good relationship with each other. And besides my brother knows a vampire girl too. A very beautiful girl. I can tell that he likes her _a lot_" Akira said.

"What's her name?" Eisuke asked, interested. He's like the gossip king here.

"Akashiya Moka, from the Shuzen family" Akira answered. We both froze.

"Can you repeat that?" I asked in a whisper.

"Akashiya Moka. Why?" Akira asked.

"Oh nothing…it just sounds like our friend's name" Eisuke said quickly.

So Akira's brother in love with her?

"Oh. Well, as I said, my brother likes her a lot. But he hasn't asked her out yet" Akira said a bit sadly.

"How did they meet?" I asked quietly.

"In their college years. They became friends quickly. I've seen her quite a few times. A very beautiful girl" he said nodding in approval. After that, Eisuke decided to change the topic entirely, asking about a dragon's ability. I didn't pay attention to their conversation, as I thought about what Akira said. But one question that Eisuke asked got my attention.

"Let's say if we're picked by all four elemental spirits. Then what?" Eisuke said. At this question, Akira smirked.

"Then you'll be like the leader of every noble family. With your current abilities though, its scary enough. I'd rather not imagine what would it be like if all four of the elemental spirits were choose you" he said, shuddering at that thought. After being quiet for a few moments, Akira perked up at a thought.

"Since its going to be a long ride, let me teach some basic magic. I believe this will help in the travel" Akira said. Eisuke and I perked up at this. Since we have a long journey ahead of us, maybe this can kill our time.

* * *

**-At The Base-**

All the staffs and authorities have been on alert since the escape of Aono Tsukune, Gengo Eisuke, Chuugo Hatsumi and Togohara Ken. And the chief-in-command, Ringo Shino is not a happy ,man.

"How did this happen?" he growled to one of the soldiers.

"I'm n-not sure sir. They managed to slip past the guards and avoid the security cameras" he stammered. Shino turned and gave the soldiers a death glare.

"Are _you_ telling me that two _test_ subjects and two _staffs_ of this lab can escape _without _being detected by our security cameras, alarms and _guards_?" he hissed menacingly. The soldier gulped and nodded. Shino turned and faced the window of his office. _Crap, if __**he**__finds out, I'm a dead man _he thought as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He turned to face the soldier who was visibly shaking.

"Bring me all the guards who were on duty then. I have a _reward _for them. Tell them to gather at the open space in the west wing". The soldier nodded, saluted and left. Shino dialed his secretary to call one of the scientists in. In not less than a minute, a short, bald scientist came in.

"Y-you called me sir?" he said in a small voice, his fear was plain obvious. Shino nodded and sat on his chair.

"I'm sure that you have a tracking device on them right? I want you to give me the coordinates of them" Shino said leaning back into his chair and closed his eyes. Among all the test subjects, these two were the most troublesome ones. _And the most valuable asset to us _he sighed inwardly.

"W-we tried. B-but the thing is, we c-can't g-get them sir" the scientist squeaked. Shino's eyes snapped open and focused on the scientist.

"What do you mean?" he said in tone that promised pain, if he didn't explain. The scientist gulped before talking.

"We tried tracking them. But someone must've taken out their tracking device" he said. Shino almost reached for his gun then, but thought better of it. He was about to ask who, but two names popped into his mind. Chuugo Hatsumi and Togohara Ken. He should've known. Those two have always had a good relationship with the test subjects. He cursed himself for being so blind. He took a deep breath before speaking.

"How many werewolves do we have in our disposal" he asked.

"Not many sir. But if you can give us some…_volunteers_, I'm sure I can help you increase their numbers" the scientist said. At this, Shino smiled. Just then, another scientist came through his door. His expression read panic.

"I'm so sorry sir to interrupt your meeting, but we have an emergency" the scientist said quickly. Shino shook his head.

"I know that you dimwit. Two of the test subjects and two of our staffs has escaped" he growled, not believing how stupid this one can be.

"That sir, and the dragon" he said, swallowing. He can tell that this will not end well.

"What? How did he escape? He's almost the size of a motherfucking _cruise ship_!" he yelled at the scientist.

"We replayed the tape of the security camera sir. Someone turned it off for eight minutes during that time. But when it was on again, the dragon was still there. Just now, some of our scientists wanted draw out some blood, when the dragon just turned into gold dust" he squeaked.

"An illusion…that son of a bitch casted an illusion" he said, taking a step back. This time, Shino was in _deep _shit.

"Alright, this what you do, assemble all the werewolves that we have on our disposal. Put them in an empty room. And as for you" he said turning to the bald scientist, "follow me. I have the _volunteers _you need". He left his room with the bald scientist on his heels and made his way to the west wing of the base. He saw all the guards who were on shift during the escape stood two long straight lines.

"How many of them are here?" Shino asked one of the soldiers.

"Forty people, sir" he said. Shino turned the scientist.

"Is that enough?" he asked. The scientist nodded. He turned his attention to the guards, who were visibly shaking.

"I want to know, what the hell were you _pathetic _scumbags doing while our two most valuable test subjects escaped? And they managed to escape with the _dragon_!" he yelled to the guards. They winced at his words.

"If you can't be useful like this, then there's another way you piece of shits can be. Soldiers, escort them. Follow the scientist" he barked. The soldiers immediately started ordering the guards, and they started following the scientist.

They arrived at an isolated lab, where they could hear growling noises coming from the empty room. The door behind them closed and the guards started to panic.

"How many of them can fit in the room?" Shino asked the scientist.

"All of them. And not to worry. We have installed a collar on the werewolves so that they can follow our orders. They have been ordered to bite and transform them. Not kill them". Shino nodded. The doors of the room opened and inside there, ten hungry looking werewolves were barking and growling. They were chained to the wall so they couldn't escape. The guards stared in horror as the soldiers started pushing them in. When all of them were in the room, the scientist released the chains off of the werewolves. The werewolves started biting them, spilling blood all over the floor. It was like a bloody carnage.

"At least now you'll be useful as _dogs_" Shino muttered, watching through the window of the door.

"Once they're done, send them to the infirmary and let their transformation take place. Install the collars on them. When they're good to go, send them out. They must now leave this country. You understand?" Shino barked at one of the soldiers. He nodded and saluted.

This was going to be a long day.


	11. Danger

**[A/N] ** Hey guys! Sorry for not updating for over a year (yes I deserve all the scolding from you guys! ) But thank you very much for being supportive of my story, and pushing me to update! :D I am truly sorry though, as I've been busy with school and life. But I will try my best to update this story on a weekly basis :) As I've said before, any constructive criticism is welcomed. You may review or PM me :)

Enjoy! :D

* * *

Learning magic from Akira was really fun, I have to say. He taught us how to control the dragon blood within us.

"Feel it flow within your veins. Embrace it, like how you embrace your vampire blood. Hear it sing it's sweet melody to you", he said. We closed our eyes and focused on our blood flow. It was true; the blood was singing to us, literally, in it's own, sweet melody.

I opened my eyes and stared at him with awe, wondering what was that all about. I glanced at Eisuke from the corner of my eyes, and saw that he wore the same expression on his face. Akira just smirked at us.

"That, my friends, is the dragon's blood. Once you master your blood flow, you can master your energy level well. The higher the rate of your blood flow is, the more magic you can use. But, be careful. You have your limits", he said in a serious tone. We both nodded. I looked up at the sky, and noticed the sun was setting. The rays from the sun painted the sky a brilliant red and the clouds orange. I stretched and took in my surroundings, watching the big, green, lush trees pass us by on my left as we drove, and the yellow paddy fields that are ripe and ready to be harvested. In that moment, I honestly had nothing to worry about. The gentle breeze was playing with my hair and was brushing against my skin. I closed my eyes and savored the moment, relaxing for a little while. I chuckled softly. When was the last time I managed to relax?

Both Akira and Eisuke was quiet. I assumed they were enjoying the moment too. If only Moka was here to share it with me. But the thought of her and that Ryuu character, made me feel uncomfortable, so I decided not to dwell on that thought for too long.

* * *

It's darker now, as we drove on the empty highway. The stars are out, shining brilliantly as they always do, and the moon was full, shining almost as brightly as the sun.

"We should find a motel or something to sleep in for the night", Eisuke said, breaking the silence. I nodded at him in agreement. I turned behind and peered through the small window of the truck. Hatsumi was already asleep, and Ken looked really tired from driving all day.

"Ken, we're stopping by at a motel. If you see one, just stop, okay? You look zombified".

"No complains on that my man. If I remember correctly, there's one about a few kilometers away", he said tiredly.

"Okay, onwards 'til we're there", I said. He just chuckled and kept on driving.

"How long more do you think we'll reach Tongyeong?" Eisuke asked, obviously feeling restless from such a long trip.

"Less than a day, I think. We should reach a port by late afternoon tomorrow", Akira said. He nodded and leaned back.

About ten minutes later, we saw a motel up ahead. Ken pulled up at the parking space and we got down, stretching and groaning. We were all tired from that awfully long drive (not to mention practicing our blood flow).

The motel looked pretty decent. We took our luggage and went in. The receptionist was a woman. She looked like she was in her thirties. She had long, light brown curly hair and hazel brown eyes. She was slightly plump and she looked really friendly. She saw us and greeted us with a smile and ushered us in.

"Welcome, welcome! How many rooms do you need?", she asked happily when Akira approached the counter.

"Two please", he said politely. After booking our rooms, we paid, got our keys and went to our respective rooms. As usual, Ken and Hatsumi are sharing rooms, and me, Eisuke and Akira will share the bigger room. There was a TV, a couch and a king sized bed in our room. The walls looked like it was recently painted. There was a small dining table, enough for four people to sit, a coffee table, a counter and a small kitchen. Honestly, this one is pretty decent.

Eisuke turned on the TV to the news channel. There was nothing interesting going on. Just some politician preaching about something. Honestly, we couldn't understand since it was all in Korean.

We got our food from our bags, or bloods to be more specific, and fed. Though I don't need it, I just wanted to re-energize just incase we run into trouble. Akira was heating up something, and Eisuke was changing the channels.

"Man, I wonder when was the last time I watched TV. I actually enjoy watching soap opera now", Eisuke said with an amused expression on his face.

"Well, I heard that Korean dramas can be pretty touching, so you might want to have a tissue with you", Akira said jokingly.

"Nah man, I'm tough. I don't cry for some overly emotional dramas", Eisuke said proudly.

Well, sure enough, he started crying when he was watching some drama.

"Eisuke, get yourself together. I thought you said you don't cry watching this crap?", I asked.

"Man, how can you not cry, watching that poor littly puppy die? How?", he asked, his voice sad and thick with emotion. Me and Akira just shook our heads. I threw a tissue box at him and he blew his nose. He got up, announcing he was going to shower.

After awhile, Akira broke the silence.

"So Tsukune, tell me a little bit about yourself. Since this is going to be quite a long journey, we could learn about each other a little", Akira said. Just then, there was a knock on my door.

I approached the door carefully, sniffing the air to recognize who was on the other side. It turns out to be Ken and Hatsumi. I opened the door carefully, just to be sure, and it was them. I let them in, scanning outside just to be sure that no one followed them here.

Hatsumi plopped herself on the couch and Ken sat on the floor.

"So guys, what's up?" Hatsumi asked. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt with a pair of shorts. Her hair was wet and it was slightly messy. I noticed she didn't have any make up on.

"Tsukune was just about to tell me a little bit about himself", Akira said, seating himself beside Hatsumi.

I sighed inwardly. This was going to be quite an interesting but long night.

* * *

**-At The Base-**

"How are their progress?" Shino asked the bald scientist.

"All the guards have been bitten sir. They're all in the infirmary under strict supervision, to make sure their transformation goes smoothly", replied to scientist, struggling to keep up with Shino's quick pace.

"Good. Tell me when they're ready. And make sure they're collared", Shino said approaching his office. The scientist nodded and hurried back to the lab.

He sat on his chair, which was big and comfortable. But he couldn't relax. Not with five fugitives on the loose.

_When I get my hands on them…_ he thought angrily. Thanks to them, **HE **was going to be pissed. It was only a matter of time before this news reached him. He leaned back, closing his eyes, hoping that they will be captured soon. He sat up straight and pressed the intercom.

"Send me the general", he told the secretary. A few minutes later, he was here. He saluted Shino.

"How can I be of service sir?" he asked, keeping a straight face. But it was obvious he was quite afraid of Shino.

"I want you to think of what routes they'll most probably take. Have roadblocks everywhere. Get their picture and distribute them among your men. I want these five captured as soon as possible, do you understand?", Shino said sternly. The general nodded and saluted, leaving Shino's office.

_Now then Aono and Gengo. Let's see how long you can keep you and your friends out of my reach. I will capture you both soon _he thought. He chuckled at the thought of the torture he was going to inflict on them. Oh, he'll definitely enjoy it. He was grinning from ear to ear.

And he was mad.


	12. The Hunt Begins

**[A/N] **Hey guys, here's another update! I know I said I'll try to update on a weekly basis, but my current schedule won't let me to, unfortunately. So I am sorry for keeping all of you waiting. Also, I won't be updating much, as I'm reading the Rosario + Vampire II manga, and keeping track of it's updates. In this case, it will be easier for me to plot and continue my story. Til, then, I hope you guys will be patient. In any case, Chapter 12. Enjoy :D

**-Headquarters- **

Ringo Shino didn't think he'd actually have to go to the headquarters to see **him**. Face to face. He was sweating bullets, and honestly, he wasn't too excited about meeting the man running this whole faction in person. He was waiting in front of his office, and made sure he looked neat before going in. Less than a minute later, a woman opened the door for him, announcing that **he **would like to see Shino. Taking a deep breath, he thanked the secretary and stepped into the office.

The office was dark, due to the fact that the blinds were pulled down. And **he **was sitting on a huge armchair, sitting in the dark. Shino couldn't see his face, because it was dark, and because he was wearing a mask. But he could see his red eyes glowing, looking at him. Eyes that are cold, distant, cruel, and regarding him coldly. In the dimly lit room, Shino could feel the heavy youkai energy in the room, and it's making him nervous.

Shino bowed in respect and fear, for this man will lead the youkai world to a new era.

"_Stand up straight Shino. You don't have to be so formal", _the man said. His voice was deep and mellow, but cold.

"Yes, my lord. You called to see me…?", he asked, straightening himself, swallowing a lump in his throat. The man chuckled, and waved his hand for Shino to sit.

"_Yes, I did. I heard about the incident at your branch. Now, tell me Shino, how could let such a thing happen hmm?", _the man said, leaning back into his chair, his cold, red eyes on him.

"I was careless, m-my lord. Our guards were slacking and-"

"_ENOUGH!" _the man yelled, his youkai energy bursting, causing the books, lamps, papers and whatever object there is sent flying across the room. He stood up angrily, looking at Shino with bloodlust.

"_YOU, have NO idea, how long I've planned for this! Just as we managed to get him, Aono Tsukune, you LET him escape. After centuries of building our faction, working my way to the top, and finally obtaining him, YOU DISAPPOINT ME! Give me a good reason why I shouldn't kill you right now Shino", _the man said angrily. Shino gulped in fear as he could see the youkai energy forming around him. He could tell that his lord was trying his best to suppress his energy.

"I am sorry my lord, but I can assure you that we will have the test subjects back soon enough. If you would please give me some time", Shino pleaded.

The man calmed down, and opened the blinds to look out the window, looking at the city. The sky was blue, with very little clouds. It was a good day, but not to them. No, they had work to do. The man sighed, regaining his composure, and turned to look at Shino.

"_Very well. You have two weeks to bring them back, do you understand? I don't care if you kill the dragon and his human friends. I want Aono Tsukune, and Gengo Eisuke. They are our priority, and I want them back alive", _the man said, sitting on his arm chair again. Shino nodded.

"_Do you have the man power to capture them back?", _he asked, taking out a box from his drawer. He took a cigar out from the box and light it up, taking a deep puff.

"We have werewolves at our disposal, as well the best soldiers of Korea. We have all the roads blocked. We're guessing that they will most probably head to Tongyeong, and escape to Japan by sea", he explained. The man nodded, looking thoughtful as he took another puff from his cigar.

"_Hmm, but in any case, I will be providing you with my men too. They're smart, Shino. Don't underestimate them"._

"As you wish, my lord. But I assure you, I will capture them back", Shino said determinedly.

"_You better, Shino. Else I will make sure you will have a slow and painful death, like our slaves. Do you understand?", _the man said. Shino nodded robotically, knowing that he was being serious.

"_Now then, since you will be here for the week, I would like to discuss with you with our progress. You and I will be attending a meeting with the board tomorrow morning. Look smart Shino", _the man said in a dismissive tone. Shino nodded, stood up, bowed, and left.

Once he was out of the office, he felt like a burden was lifted off his shoulders, and it was easier for him to breathe. He realized that man's youkai had been suffocating him, though he was repressing himself fully. He shuddered at what might happen to himself if he were to screw up again. He took his phone out and called his secretary.

"Saya, tell the scientist to prepare Gilgamesh. We might be needing him soon. And give the scientists the orders to let the wolves go. It's time to hunt.", and he ended the call. He exited the building and entered his car, where he was taken to his hotel

Akashiya Moka excited picking Yukari up. But due to certain circumstances, Hayate ended up following as well. Not that she mind anyways. The only thing that was ruining her morning was the traffic. Though, she shouldn't be surprised since she's living in the city. Maybe it's because she was excited to see her friends again.

"Moka-san, I think you better calm your nerves. I can practically feel your excitement from here", Yukari chuckled. Moka and Hayate chuckled, and she didn't bother denying it, because it was true. She was excited to go back to Youkai Academy. The place where she met her friends….and Tsukune. Thinking about Tsukune made her choke up a little. Though she does have hope that he may be alive, she couldn't help thinking what if it's just a false hope? What if Ryuu is right? She had to admit that Ryuu was handsome, good looking, had the perfect body and an amazing personality, she just couldn't see him more than a friend. If she was going to be with him, she felt like she was betraying Tsukune in a way.

Yukari, sensing her friend's sudden change of mood, looked at her with a questioningly. Moka realized that she was worrying her friend, and decided to push that thought away. They talked about nothing throughout their journey. Mostly girl talk, which bore Hayate, but he dealt with it.

They arrived at the bus stop where the bus driver will usually pick Youkai Academy students up, and parked they're car nearby. Soon enough, the bus driver arrived, looking eerie as usual.

"Hehehe, welcome back kids. I see that you brought along a new friend", the bus driver said in his creepy voice, looking at a nervous and disturbed Hayate.

"He's Yukari's boyfriend, Hayate. Anyways, do you mind dropping us to Youkai Academy? We would like to see the headmaster", Moka asked.

"Sure. Hop in kids. Your friends are there too anyways", the bus driver said, motioning his head to the seats at the back. They climbed into the bus and they were off, to the place where it all started.


	13. Plans In Motion Part I

[[A/N] Hello guys! My deepest apologies for not updating this for over a year now. I had a hard to time keeping up with college and assignments and bleh. It totally killed my motivation to write. BUT here I am once again, updating this story again! I would like to take this opportunity to thank Toby860, Vampire-Wolf89 and Moneymaka for pushing me for the updates. And so, here's the latest chapter. As always, some reviews and constructive criticism would be appreciated *bows* (no flaming, please and thank you ^_^v) _**Also, be sure to keep checking my profile for the latest announcements and story updates.**_

We spent the rest of the night talking, about myself, about each other. After telling them my story of how I ended up in Youkai Academy and being who I am today, I could see the sympathy in their eyes. For some reason, that kinda pissed off, but I didn't say anything much of it. I could tell Hatsumi and Ken were getting tired. They should sleep, considering we've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow.

"Hey Ken, Hatsumi, why don't you guys get some sleep? You'll really need it." I said.

"Yeah, you're right man. I'm pretty worn out. I'll see you guys in the morning" Ken said, getting up and yawning. Both Ken and Hatsumi headed back to the room, while Akira went to get a map the bag.

"Alright guys, at this point, we'll have to stay clear from the roads. They'd be alerted by now, and they'll be searching for us high and low. Going on the road would be a bad idea at this point", I said, looking at Akira. He and Eisuke both nodded in agreement. Akira spread the map on the floor, looking for alternative routes.

"They'd be blocking off possible roads we'll take, so we'll really need to keep a low profile now. Try avoiding highways and places with population. We should restock before we leave, so that we don't have to stop til we reach the sea" Eisuke said, analyzing the map. I could see Akira deep in thought as he stared at the map, trying to devise a plan for our escape.

"What's on your mind Akira?" Eisuke asked, noticing his expression too.

"Well, the best option for us now is to travel by foot again. We'll travel through the forest, and we'll try not to stop. I understand that Ken and Hatsumi are they'll need sleep but I hope they can endure a night or two without sleep" Akira said.

"I guess we'll get them to stock up energy drinks and coffee then. If we travel this way, how long will it take?" I asked, hoping it won't take longer without a car.

"If my estimation is right, by evening. Just a little slower than taking the truck. But this is where it gets a little problematic. Tongyeong is kind of a suburban area, and it's currently under development. So reaching to the port of Tongyeong could be a little tougher" Akira while crossing his arms against his chest.

"Hmm, you're right. We'll think about it once we reach the place. For now, we'll be on watch. Tsukune, I'll be Ken's and Hatsumi's room to be on watch, and to make sure nothing happens. You stay here with Akira" Eisuke said, getting up. I nodded in agreement and watched him leave the room.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Shino was uncomfortable. Uncomfortable would be an understatement. More like scared shitless. He's going to be attending a meeting with him and the rest of the board, and for the first time ever, he felt fear. Only this...monster, and the board could make him tremble in fear like that. Taking a deep breath, he tried calming himself down. He made sure his tie wasn't crooked and there wasn't any creases on his suit. He looked smart, but needed to keep calm. Bloody monster wasting my time with this shit while the fugitives were on the run Shino thought sourly. If the rest of the board found out about this, he's going to be unhappy. And when he's unhappy... Shino shuddered at the thought of what his boss is capable of. He was snapped back to reality when his secretary announced that his boss wants him in the office. Taking a last look on the mirror, he walked out of the door, praying for the best.

He was waiting for Shino in his office, with his back facing the door, while smoking a cigar. The was smoky, and the smell of the cigar assaulted Shino when he walked in. His boss didn't turn to face him, as he calmly puffed out smoke, as if deep in thought.

"Looking smart Shino. Good. Now, keep in mind that the rest of the board has no idea about the escaped fugitives, and we intend to keep in that way. Are we clear?" he asked, taking another drag of the cigar.

"Yes sir. And thank you for the man power. They'll be useful, along with the werewolves", Shino said confidently. The man chuckled and turned his head slightly to Shino's direction.

"Of course they'll be useful. They are my creations after all. Keep me updated about this Shino. And once you've captured them and kill scientists off, bring them to me. I will make sure they know what is the consequences of escaping" he said coldly, his eyes promising pain and suffering. Shino couldn't help but to shudder, and for a fleeting moment, actually felt sorry for what's to come for them. Well, those shit heads asked for Shino thought.

"What about the dragon sir? Should we kill him as well?". The man looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No...bring him to me. I will make an example of him to the other two. But we have more pressing matters at hand. Let's go Shino, we don't want to be late. They hate waiting after all." he said coolly. Taking a last drag out of the cigar, he put it out in an ash tray and straightened his suit before walking out of the office, with Shino behind.

The journey to the meeting place took twenty minutes. Twenty uncomfortable minutes of silence for Shino. Honestly, he wants to go back to the base and handle the mission, to make sure they fugitives are captured. But he knows better than to defy his boss' order. Sighing inwardly, he put on his poker face and got out of the car, facing the large skyscraper in front of him. The doormen opened the door for the boss and him to enter, and after a few security measures of authenticating the identity of everyone, and making sure the guards wait in the lobby, they got into an elevator and made their way to the top floor. This was Shino's first time meeting the rest of the board members, and he can already imagine what the atmosphere was going to be like.

They reached the top floor and stepped out of the elevator, with a pretty young lady, who's definitely a youkai with her looks (and her scent) greeting them and leading them into the meeting room. His boss chuckled softly, and Shino was guessing that he could sense his nervousness and got slightly embarrassed. The meeting room was huge...and really dark. But he could make out figures sitting around the huge table. He decided to stand behind the chair as his boss takes a seat.

"You're late, Miyabi. You know we hate waiting" a voice came across the room. It sounded deep and harsh. His boss merely chuckled.

"Since I'm here already, shall we get started?" his boss said coolly. There were voices of agreement coming around the table, and the meeting commenced.


	14. Plans In Motion Part II

[A/N] Another update! And yes, to answer most of your questions, I will be updating more often now than before (at least once a week if I can manage). Thank you all for your support on this story! Also, check out my new story based on the anime (which was based on an RPG game) Tower of Druaga. Read and review and tell me what you think! Also, it would be really cool if there were more writers writing fanfics for it, since there's a few. For those of you who haven't watched the anime, **go and watch it. **It is amazing \(^_^)/. Well, enjoy this chapter! :D

We left the motel before the crack of dawn, and started running through the forests as we planned. As usual, Hatsumi was on my back, Ken was on Eisuke's. The sun has risen now, and we were far away from the motel, and heading towards Tongyeong. Our priority right now is to get away from Korea as soon as we can and try our best to cover our tracks from these people, and figure out what is it they want with is, particularly with me and Eisuke. At this point, I'm pretty sure they're looking for us, squeezing whatever man power (though I doubt that those that're coming after us are human) they have to look for us.

As we ran, my mind wandered off for a bit, thinking fondly of my childhood memories and how me and Kyoko would be playing together, and how she would be fussing over me for nothing. I could feel my throat swelling up, the emptiness gnawing inside of me, tears threatening to fall as I thought about my family. Remorse, regret, emptiness, uselessness...all of it started to fill me up. I wanted to turn back, stop running and find Hokuto and make him pay for what he did. But I took a quick, deep breath, trying to regain my composure as we ran. As the forest trees started to thin out, I could smell dirt and metal, and started to slow my pace a little. Eisuke and Akira followed suit and slowed down behind me.

"What's up Tsuki?" Eisuke asked, his eyes scanning the area, looking for any possible threat that's lurking around the corner.

I motioned him to be quiet and stepped forward to better assess my surroundings. There was a scent that didn't belong here. It wasn't natural.

It smelled of werewolf.

"Eisuke, Akira, take a sniff and tell me what you smell", I told them quietly while putting Hatsumi down carefully and keeping her behind my back. They looked at each other and shrugged, doing what I told them to. Instantly they became alarmed.

"Damnit, they caught up to us sooner that I thought" Eisuke muttered, putting Ken down. Both him and Hatsumi looked nervous.

"What now?", Hatsumi asked, trying not to sound scared as as she looks. I motioned for them to wait, trying to think quick. Just as I was about to answer, a sudden movement caught the corner of my eye, and I pushed Hatsumi out of the way as the huge black fuzzy figure pounced on me, tackling me to the ground. I felt the air in my lungs gushed out as it landed a blow to my gut.

Before I could regain back my bearings, I felt something heavy pinning me down to the ground. I looked and I saw a pair of cold black eyes, and massive teeth in my face, snarling at me. Steeling myself, I pushed the werewolf off me, and quickly got on my feet. Looking around me, I saw Akira and Eisuke were busy fending off two more werewolves.

Oh boy, this was going to be tough.

The werewolf I pushed off got back on his feet, and let out a loud, angry growl. Not letting him have any opportunity to attack, I rushed head on and felt my fist collide with it's jaw, followed by a sickeningly loud crack. It landed to the ground with a loud thump, but it wasn't staying down. It quickly got up and snapped a large tree branch to use as a weapon.

"Aono Tsukune...you and your friends have caused me and my colleagues too much trouble. Because of **you**, we had to be turned into werewolves just to hunt you down. We had to sacrifice our humanity because you** escaped**", he snarled, hatred filling his eyes.

"Hate to disappoint you, but I don't think I'll be following you any time soon", I said, and launched a round house kick at him. He managed to avoid the attack and leaped to my side, landing another punch on me. Ignoring the pain, I grabbed his arm and pulled him to me, and hit him right in the face. He gasped in pain and staggered back, and before he had the chance to regain his balance, I kicked him in the gut, and landed blow after blow on his face and torso. He landed on the ground with a sickening thud, blood oozing from his face. Eisuke and Akira managed to knock out the other two, and kept Hatsumi and Ken safe. I sighed in relief and looked at the half conscious werewolf on the ground.

"How many of you are there?" I asked, as he tried to turn his head towards me.

"More than enough...to take all of you out", he rasped out. I heard Eisuke chuckled at that. I sighed and placed my foot on his rib (which I suspect I had fractured).

"I won't ask again", I said coldly, applying pressure onto his rib. He clenched his teeth, trying not to scream in pain. I added even more pressure til I could hear a loud, cracking sound and him yelling to stop.

"Stop! Please! There's forty of us okay!", he yelled, trying to get my foot off. I kept it firm there.

"Where are you guys stationed", I asked.

"There's a map in my pocket that's marked with all the routes we're stationed at", he rasped out painfully. I bent down and searched his pockets, and pulled a map that's marked colourfully. Before we left, I knocked him out cold, and we left the area and took shelter in a cave. We studied the map carefully. I heard Akira sigh at as he take a look at the map.

Damn, looks like we're cut off at every routes possible. I turned to the rest and watched their faces as they studied the map. My throat tightened a little, seeing the hope being drained out of their eyes as they searched the map for any route.

"Wait...take a look at this route, right here", Akira said, pointing at the map. I took a closer look, and saw that it was marked too.

"It's marked Akira", Eisuke said with a huff of annoyance.

"Yes, it is. But look, according to the legend of the map, there's a sewer line there. And if you follow it, it leads right to the seaside", Akira said, his finger tracing the said route and tapped at where it ended. My eyes followed the line and saw that it did indeed ended at the seaside. And the best part was that it was slightly isolated too.

" A sewer..?", Hatsumi asked hesitantly, her nose scrunching up in disgust. I nodded.

"We have an advantage though. The smell from the sewer is more than enough to hide our scent. Plus you know how sensitive werewolves are when it comes to smell", Eisuke said, leaning back against the cave wall.

"It's decided then. We'll go tomorrow night. We'll recuperate til then", I said rolling up the map and stuffing it in my back pocket. I received mumbles of agreement from everyone before they split up, finding a nice spot for them to sleep.

I stood up and stretched and went to my backpack for a blood pack. The burn in my throat flared up after fighting those werewolves. Training with Akira didn't really help with my thirst either. I sank my teeth into the blood pack, and almost moaned at the feel of the thick, delicious blood that filled my mouth.

After sucking my blood pack dry, I buried the empty pack, so that no one would see it and assume this cave was inhibited. I sat down and leaned my back against the cave's cool wall. I watched as the four of them were talking, telling each other their plans once they returned to Japan. It made me think too. What am I going to do once I'm there? I can't find Moka right away, or anyone for that matter, with us being chased down like a wanted fugitive. We don't even know what we're dealing with. My heart tightened slightly at the thought of Moka. How I longed to see her again, to be in her embrace, letting her sweet scent overwhelm me. I sighed as I shifted my position to get a little more comfortable. I need all the rest I could get if I'm going to survive this.

* * *

[A/N] Sorry for the delay for writing this chapter. Honestly it's hard writing a fic when the manga's author updates the manga real slow. It's hard to write the plot /grumbles. But here's the new chapter. R&R as always.


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